Warrior of the Stars
by Xtreme Nightmare
Summary: AU. He wasn't their legendary hero, or any hero for that matter. And even if most people refused to believe it; sooner or later the harsh truth had to be revealed.
1. The Visitor from Space

**A/N: **Pretend there is a disclaimer...

Now several things before I start: This is AU (alternate universe), but this will become clear soon enough.

This is also rated M; while you will come across some mentions about a T rating in some chapters, by now it is M, and as this is a rewritten form of chapter 1 you will already come across a higher rating here. Not quite M yet, but then again I'm not quite sure what to rate this...

So, this chapter was rewritten, and I plan to rewrite the others as well. When you read this in the past that's alright, but I changed things. In fact this chapters is right now the chapter with most hints to future events, some of which only happen after chapter 20. So feel free to read this again. ;)

* * *

**1. The Visitor from Space**

Many would consider this particular night beautiful, or if not beautiful at least peaceful. There were only few clouds in the sky, and one could see countless stars when looking up. There was no wind blowing at all, and it was quite warm for this time of the day. All in all a peaceful night.

Unfortunately peace didn't last.

Sheep were sleeping atop a hill, resting on the green grass, tired from the previous day; too tired to notice anything that was going on.

When one of the sheep awoke and gave a terrified sound, it was already far too late for them to escape the danger they were in.

The villagers didn't even notice something was wrong until the next morning.

* * *

"It's terrible!"

"What could have done that?"

This and similar questions or exclamations greeted the king of Dreamland the next day. Although no one had heard anything the night before, it was painfully obvious that something had happened to the sheep. It wouldn't have been that obvious if they had simply disappeared, leaving the possibility of them simply having run away. But the bones lying on the ground suggested something else entirely: someone or something had eaten all sheep.

"Some monster ate all the sheep!" someone exclaimed, and the tense atmosphere became even worse, although that had hardly seemed possible only moments before. Saying out loud what everyone had known already anyway hadn't been the smartest idea.

"But where is it?"

King Dedede, who looked a little like an overweight penguin, with a blue body, yellow mouth, feet and hands, and wore a heavy red coat, didn't really care for all the questions the villagers had.

There were several in his throne room now, all of them afraid of whatever monster had eaten the sheep the night before. He didn't even know why they came to bother _him_ with _their_ problems.

"Don't bother his Majesty! He has more important things to do than search for some imaginary monster!" Dedede's assistant Escargon, a snail with lavender skin, a green shell and a mustache and goatee, came to save the king and try to drive all the villagers off, but before it came to that, someone new spoke up.

"Maybe you should actually listen to them. Whatever ate the sheep may be dangerous for everyone else as well."

Standing in the door were the Cabinet Minister Parm, his wife Memu, his son Bun and his daughter Fumu, who had been the one to speak earlier. Her look became suspicious when she saw the king's new pet in the corner, prompting the villagers to look in that direction and realizing it for the first time since entering the throne room.

"Could it have been this?" the Mayor, a Cappy wearing a brown jacket and hat, questioned after looking at the king's pet, making the king look at his pet in turn.

"What? My cute little Octacon doin' somethin' like this? No way." While everyone present definitely did not think of it as 'cute', they had to admit it was small. Far too small to eat any sheep in fact. And it was an octopus living in an aquarium. Those normally didn't eat any sheep.

"Mm, it sure is small... It wouldn't be able to eat any sheep..." The Mayor still thought it was the king's doing, but he had to admit something as small as that octopus wouldn't be able to eat whole sheep.

"Well, if there are no more questions left, you all may leave." It was obvious that Escargon only tried to get rid of the villagers, but they all complied, still talking about the possible monster because they still had no answer to their question.

The only one looking back at Octacon before leaving the throne room was Fumu.

* * *

"What is it the villagers have to ask of Kabu?"

Several villagers had gathered in front of the wise Kabu, a Stone Sage they had always come to in their times of need. Fumu had always wondered why Kabu knew so much, and why he helped them.

"Honored Kabu, a monster appeared, eating all the sheep at night..." her father began tentatively, unsure how to finish his sentence.

"We don't know for sure it's Dedede's doing, but he has that pet..." the Mayor continued, careful not to actually say it was Dedede's fault.

"Please Kabu. We need your wisdom." Fumu's look showed signs of desperation when she spoke to Kabu. She had no idea what to do with the situation.

"And the long-lived Kabu shall answer." Kabu paused for only a moment, but for all the villagers it felt like minutes, agonizingly slow passing minutes. "There is a demon beast in Dreamland."

The reaction was one of confusion. "Demon beast?" None of the villagers knew what exactly a demon beast was, though some at least had a general idea.

"Demon beasts are created by Nightmare, the Emperor of Darkness." Nightmare was no name any of them knew, but 'Emperor of Darkness' sounded bad. Someone like that sounded like much trouble.

"So Dreamland is targeted by this... Nightmare? Who exactly is he?" Fumu had remembered the name, although the title had admittedly stuck more to her thoughts. What exactly did someone with that title do?

"Nightmare is the President of the Holy Nightmare Corporation, which dominates the universe now after defeating almost all Star Warriors," Kabu answered, and it came as no real surprise to Fumu, although she had admittedly not expected 'the universe'. That was huge.

Awkward silence prevailed for some moments, and no one dared to voice a question.

"What will happen to Dreamland?" And then the critical question came. Fumu could see that all of them had wondered about that, and considering that someone like this Nightmare had sent a demon beast to Dreamland, that was hardly surprising.

"Dreamland will be destroyed." The reaction came instantly. Four simple words that caused panic among the villagers.

"But there has to be a way. There is a legend..." Fumu started, aware that Kabu would hear her despite the commotion. Even most villagers had heard her.

And again there was a dramatic pause before Kabu spoke. It was nerve-wracking.

"You are referring to the legend of 'Kirby of the Stars'." Of course Kabu knew which legend Fumu was referring to. "Soon he will arrive."

She looked at Kabu in surprise. That legendary warrior would arrive? Briefly she imagined some knight in shining armor rescuing them all; then her thoughts were interrupted.

"That's stupid! There's no one gonna arrive!" Dedede shouted from afar as he and Escargon came driving in the king's big, green tank, making all the villagers hurriedly get out of the way. Interestingly enough he seemed not angry but vaguely amused; surprising considering the fact that Dedede was easily angered on normal days.

"Kabu is not a liar."

Kabu declared it for everyone to hear in his usual somewhat aloof manner, clearly unbothered by the fact that Dedede was aiming his tank's weapon at him. He seemed absolutely sure that nothing would happen.

"Well, predict this! What will happen if I shoot at ya?" Dedede was laughing loudly, a sound that made Fumu cringe slightly because of the volume.

"Dedede won't shoot at Kabu." That prompted only more laughing from Dedede, as well as hitting Escargon on the head.

"What? I'll show you!" Dedede aimed at Kabu, ready to shoot, yet before he could do anything a light illuminated the sky.

Everyone looked up in surprise as something fell from the sky, a comet crashing down on their planet? They all followed it with their eyes and saw the thing smashing through a tree and in the end crashing into a hill near the castle.

After only a second of hesitation everyone hurried to get there, and when all of them arrived where the thing had impacted, they saw what it was. It was a silver, star shaped spaceship.

Fumu and everyone else went closer, trying to see if someone was inside, but they had no success. Until they heard some noises, indicating that it was opening.

"Stupid thing..."

They couldn't see who it was because the hatch faced to the other side, but apparently the one was not happy about having crash-landed. When he went around his spaceship, everyone stared at him.

He was smaller than the Cappies, even smaller than Fumu herself was, though not by too much. He wore a silver mask, white gloves, a blue cape and pauldrons. On his left shoulder there was a star shaped badge that briefly caught Fumu's attention, but soon her attention turned elsewhere.

His eyes were piercing her and everyone else with an intensity she had never seen before. Their color wasn't exactly common either, though their gold-yellow hue was not all that important as he took the situation in.

"It's a space invader!" While everyone was still staring, Dedede had already pulled out his mallet, intent on attacking their mysterious visitor, who had, obviously to his displeasure, crashed. But Fumu stopped him before he could.

"Wait a minute!" Surprisingly Dedede really stopped and looked at Fumu, clearly not happy to be interrupted. But Fumu ignored him and looked at the visitor from space, who in turn looked back at her.

"Who are you? You couldn't be... Kirby?"

* * *

"Kirby?"

He was well aware that his eyes had changed color to green right now, but those people's surprise was nothing compared to the surprise he himself felt. For exactly this name to be associated with him... Where had they even come across it?

"I do not go by the name of Kirby."

"Oh... Well, who are you then?" the girl from before asked, but his attempt to respond was cut short by the other guy.

"That guy is obviously a demon beast!" he accused heatedly and made ready to attack with his mallet, yet stopped his attempt.

"You may call me Meta Knight. I am..." he paused, simply for dramatic effect, "a warrior from the stars."

"You are a Star Warrior?" That was not what he had said, but he saw the futility of telling the overly enthusiastic girl. _Theoretically_ she wasn't even wrong with that.

"Even if you're not Kirby you might still be able to save us then!" Meta Knight gave her a calculating look.

"Save you from what?" he asked, already a vague idea of what might be the problem in his mind.

"Kabu said there is a demon beast here in Dreamland. He also said 'Kirby of the Stars' would arrive soon."

And in Meta Knight's experience Kabu was right more often than not. Now that was certainly an interesting situation; regardless of whom exactly Kabu meant, at least the part about the demon beast was certainly true, Meta Knight noticed with some amusement.

"So there is a demon beast here, and you want me to defeat it." It wasn't even a question, yet most of the people present nodded. From the corner of his eyes Meta Knight noticed the guy from before look at him with an angry expression.

"Do you have any idea what it looks like?" He addressed all of them now despite the fact that there had only two people been talking to him until now. Still, it didn't get him any real answers.

"Um... well... We don't know..."

"We just have to wait for it to appear again then."

Just as Meta Knight had finished his sentence, some movement from the side caught his attention.

"If you're a real Star Warrior you'll be able to take this mallet!"

Meta Knight had seen the movement in time and easily sidestepped the big guy's attack, making him lose his balance and come dangerously close to the edge of the hill they were standing on.

What Meta Knight hadn't considered was the guy's desperate attempt to hold onto something to keep himself from falling. He grabbed the closest person, who obviously happened to be Meta Knight, with his left arm and took him with himself into the abyss. Quite literal.

Both of them fell down the hill Meta Knight's ship had crash-landed on, Meta Knight punching his opponent so he would let go. He did halfway down the hill, and Meta Knight managed to get back on his feet and stop his descent down the hill before he even reached the ground.

The other guy wasn't that lucky and hit the ground with a grunt of pain. Served him right.

Jumping down the last few meters, Meta Knight made sure to land some distance away from his attacker, far enough away that he wouldn't be in his immediate focus when he would get up again.

"Your Majesty!"

Meta Knight raised a brow in doubt and surprise. That had been the king?

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Turning away from some overly concerned snail asking whom he now knew to be the king for his wellbeing, Meta Knight found his way blocked after only a few steps. The girl from before stood panting in front of him, along with a boy and two others.

"Are you... alright?" she asked concerned, or what Meta Knight thought was concerned. After running down the hill she was panting too much to actually figure out her exact tone of voice.

"Yes, I am..." he said, pausing at the end of his sentence, only now realizing how he didn't even know their names.

"That's a relief... By the way I don't think we introduced ourselves." She got her breathing back to normal, then she continued. "I'm the Cabinet Minister's daughter, Fumu."

Meta Knight couldn't quite guess her age, but she was older than the boy who had accompanied her down the hill. Her skin and hair were both of pale yellow color, with her hair in a ponytail, and she wore a green and pink outfit. She looked curiously at him with her green eyes, obviously intrigued by his arrival a few minutes ago.

Much to his chagrin she was also a little taller than him.

"I'm her little brother, Bun." He was a little smaller than Fumu, and also a little smaller than Meta Knight, and his skin and hair had a slightly darker color. He wore a pair of purple shorts and green shoes, and unlike Fumu, he smiled. His eyes couldn't be seen though.

"And we are Lololo..."

"... and Lalala." The other two didn't only look alike (except for the color), but they even had similar names. And they seemed oddly familiar... Meta Knight nodded at all of them and then turned in direction of the guy who had attacked him earlier.

"And who is this?"

Meta Knight gestured in the guy's direction, slightly disappointed because he seemed to be mostly alright. He was standing beside the tank the snail had come down the hill with, but at least he was slightly swaying on his feet. Served him right.

"That's King Dedede, ruler of Dreamland, with his assistant Escargon." Fumu said, an annoyed expression on her face now. Apparently her opinion of their king was pretty low; a fact Meta Knight would certainly remember. If he judged the situation correctly Fumu was not only smart, but also quite influential in a certain way.

"A great pair to have as one's enemies, I'm sure."

Before any of them could comment they heard the roaring of an engine, and saw Dedede's tank come up behind them, clearly intending to run them over. Meta Knight had seen it soon enough and pushed Fumu and Bun out of the way before the tank came too close. He even had enough time to simply side-step instead of jumping out of the way.

Dedede and Escargon turned the tank around, angry that Meta Knight had escaped them, and began firing at him. Meta Knight dodged the shots, never in danger of actually being hit, and as soon as Dedede lost sight of him, Meta Knight was gone completely into some random field.

His opponents made to follow, but had soon to realize they that wouldn't catch Meta Knight like that. They had lost sight of him and had no idea were he had gone, when Meta Knight himself kept exact track of their movements.

Instead Fumu, Bun, Lololo and Lalala suddenly appeared in their way, making them stop as to not run them over. They were not the target and the villagers would certainly be most displeased if those four would be run over by a tank.

"Stop this right now Dedede!" Fumu shouted with an angry expression, clearly displeased with the situation, and glaring daggers at the king and his assistant.

"Yeah, stop chasing him around!" Bun added from right next to her.

Meta Knight saw Dedede's face take an angry shade of red, and he prepared to interfere if the king decided to attack. Before it came to that, though, Escargon leaned towards the king and whispered something in his ear.

The king's face became almost pensive for a moment, then his face contorted into a grin that promised nothing good. Without a word they left the kids be, turned the tank around and drove away.

They looked after them in confusion, clearly surprised by this turn of events. None of them even noticed that Meta Knight had appeared behind them.

"Am I the only one who noticed that they plan something?" he suddenly asked from behind them, and was rewarded with all four of them turning around, startled.

"Where did you suddenly come from?" They didn't get an answer.

* * *

Meta Knight was certainly not a social person, and as such he felt decidedly uncomfortable in the presence of not only the four kids from before, but also many of the villagers. Maybe it wasn't uncomfortable; he didn't care for all their attention at any rate.

The Mayor and everyone else had insisted on giving Meta Knight a proper welcome, and he had been unable to refuse them, even though he had tried, quite hard at that. But all his protests had been ignored, and now he was sitting at a table in the Mayor's house with everyone else.

"I would like to welcome our visitor from space, Meta Knight!" the Mayor said, much too enthusiastic for Meta Knight's taste. He had raised his glass and everyone else followed suit - everyone except for Meta Knight.

"Cheers!"

He was only wasting his time here. Defeating the demon beast on this planet was his only concern, even if he had technically not even agreed to that. Regardless, he would defeat it and then he would leave.

Enduring their welcome party without complaint was harder than he had first thought. Some stupid questions later Meta Knight was ready to just leave, and certainly to their surprise suddenly did just that.

Wasn't there a noise in the distance?

When Meta Knight arrived at the place from where he knew the noise had come from, he couldn't do much more than stare at the scene of disaster in front of him. He wasn't quite sure which demon beast had done it, but none of the sheep he knew had been supposed to be there, were left.

Fumu, Bun, Lololo and Lalala had followed and caught up to him now, and their first reaction was to gasp in surprise. That was probably the first time they had ever seen something like this.

They were standing on yet another small hill, granting them a perfect view on the carnage in front of them. Bones lay scattered in the grass, some of them splintered, indicating that some sheep had experienced a painful death at least.

The exact details were a little harder to make out, considering that it was dark by now that was hardly surprising, but the moon revealed yet another dreadful detail. Bones were not the only indication of what had happened, for something reflected the moonlight on the ground.

There was another gasp as the cloud that had temporarily obscured the moon disappeared and revealed all the blood on the ground beneath. It glistered in the moonlight, yet there was no beauty to it.

Meta Knight himself was unbothered by it, his companions were not. They hurriedly took a few steps away, clearly disturbed by the images.

"Who did this?" Fumu asked, her voice uncertain and shaking slightly. Her reaction almost made Meta Knight smile.

"That was the demon beast. I wonder which one it is," Meta Knight stated, unconcerned by the fact that his answer let the kids pale slightly.

A sudden explosion in the distance made all of them turn their heads in direction of the castle, where it came from. It was only a dark silhouette in the distance, even the moonlight not enough to illuminate it completely, but Meta Knight still saw clearly where it was located.

Not waiting a moment longer, Meta Knight sprinted for the castle, expecting something bad to happen there.

The guards, some Waddle Dee with spears he noticed in passing, either didn't care for him or were too surprised by his sudden entrance; either way they were no obstacles on his way to... wherever he was going.

Though it was his first time entering the castle, Meta Knight found the way to Dedede's and Escargon's location without problems. When he arrived at the throne room, he also found out what had caused the explosion, and he wasn't happy about it.

"What do you think are you doing?" Meta Knight asked with an icy tone and made the king and his assistant turn around in surprise.

While Dedede had a smug expression on his face, Escargon's expression came closer to a grimace instead.

They had taken Meta Knight's ship apart, random pieces lying all around them. Meta Knight glared at them, his eyes and voice promising painful punishment.

Of course Dedede either didn't notice or chose to ignore it, far too sure of himself and his title that didn't mean a thing to Meta Knight.

"Taking your ship apart of course," he answered, smug expression never leaving his face. Of course Meta Knight already knew that, it was plain to see after all, but it didn't improve his mood to hear it from Dedede. Not in the slightest.

And then several things happened at the same time. Meta Knight threatened to draw his sword, but was interrupted in the process. Not by the arrival of Fumu, Bun, Lololo, Lalala, and two people he suspected to be Fumu and Bun's parents, not by Escargon's warning for Dedede and certainly not by Dedede taking a step back, but rather the octopus that was in an aquarium in the corner and glaring at him.

Though it certainly was weird for an octopus to glare at him, or for any octopus to glare at all, it was not weird for a demon beast to glare at him. Meta Knight gave up on his attempt to attack Dedede and glared back at the octopus. Or rather the octopus he knew to be the demon beast Octacon.

Lost in his glaring, Meta Knight didn't notice Fumu had begun speaking to him and only understood half the question. "- noise, Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight turned around to look at her, still trying to comprehend the question he had not realized had been for him. And that was his mistake.

While he was searching for an answer, Dedede raced in his direction, mallet in hand and ready to attack.

Sparing Dedede no look while jumping to his left, Meta Knight looked at Octacon. The glare had become a look similar to that of Dedede earlier, and its eyes were glowing a bright green. Looking back at Dedede, he noticed his eyes had taken the same color and it was quite clear to him what had happened. Octacon was controlling the king.

What an interesting ability. That one was new and certainly made the whole situation more entertaining, if only because Meta Knight _wouldn't_ retaliate with the same ability.

"What are you doing, your Majesty?"

Meta Knight dodged one of Dedede's strikes, both of them ignoring the question. In fact Meta Knight was not sure if Dedede even knew what he was doing. Probably not.

Hence it was no surprise for Meta Knight when Dedede's attempts ultimately ended with him smashing into a pillar. And it had been so obvious. It had not been coincidence for Meta Knight to just stand in front of the pillar after all.

With Dedede out cold ("Your Majesty!") Octacon had no other choice but to attack him itself. And while Meta Knight knew what was going happen before it actually happened, the others did not and were a little alarmed by what happened next. 'A little' might have been an understatement, though.

"What's happening?"

Meta Knight refrained from stating the obvious. After all it was so obvious that it was absolutely impossible to not see what was going on. Or hear it for that matter, because the aquarium had shattered and sent pieces of glass everywhere.

But that was to be expected, considering that Octacon now was more than ten times as big as before, it would be surprising if the aquarium had survived.

The ridiculously huge octopus didn't hesitate long before attacking. It summoned several small octopuses and sent them Meta Knight's way, intent on killing him.

But Meta Knight had abandoned his strategy of evading. He drew his sword from the sheath, and it appeared with a shower of sparks. The golden sword with the six spikes cut through the first octopus without any trouble.

The second fell soon after, and only a few seconds later none were left, all cut down by Meta Knight. That left only Octacon itself, and Meta Knight was confident that it also wouldn't last much longer.

"Sword Beam." Taking no chances Meta Knight didn't fight it in close combat; instead he shot a beam with his sword that came flying directly at his opponent.

However, Octacon had been thrashing its arms around, and that fact now helped it. Unfortunately for Meta Knight, Octacon smashed a pillar and his attack did only hit it as it fell. The pillar was smashed into little pieces by the force of Meta Knight's attack, and pieces of stone rained down on the demon beast and Dedede.

Everyone else ducked and shielded their faces in reflex, but none of them were actually close enough to be hit anyway.

Now Octacon was mad and Meta Knight made a subtle dash for the exit. Predictably the demon beast followed, knowing full well that Meta Knight was the only threat to its continued safety. He sprinted through the dull gray hallways, seeing the occasional Waddle Dee on his way, all the while hearing sounds of destruction behind him.

He was quite sure that some walls had not survived.

The way Meta Knight chose was pretty random, and it wasn't too much of a surprise for him, when he couldn't go on because he had reached a dead end. That was unfortunate, but he was confident that he would get out of this situation.

Even if it was through a window.

It was really the only choice left besides fighting Octacon in a narrow hallway and Meta Knight didn't hesitate long. He didn't even bother with opening the window first; the fact that Octacon had appeared in the same hallway and was breathing fire at him, forced him to take the drastic approach and jump while it was still closed.

Still shielding his face with his arms, Meta Knight landed on the ground, shards of glass raining down to the ground all around him. His arms had been slightly cut, but those cuts would heal soon and wouldn't leave permanent damage.

Looking up he saw Octacon shatter some more windows, and he backed off from the shards, not impressed by that poor attempt to hit him. It roared in anger, but took the longer way through the castle to get to him, certainly because it was too big to fit through a window and didn't feel like destroying the whole wall.

That left Meta Knight plenty of time to get away.

While he had sprinted before, he had now slowed down to a jog. It was more than enough to escape Octacon because it actually took a detour through almost the whole castle. Smashing walls would have been quicker for sure.

That fact was proven when Fumu, Bun, Lololo and Lalala reached Meta Knight before Octacon did. He couldn't say he was thrilled by that, though.

"Why did you follow me?"

He had found the way to the castle's gates by now, and was sure that his opponent was somewhere relatively close - at least the noise of destruction made him suspect that. That meant the kids weren't safe in his company.

"Because you might need help?"

"Because you don't know the way!"

"Because we wanted to see what's happening."

"Yeah."

At least there were reasons, though Meta Knight couldn't say that any of them made that much sense considering that they endangered themselves because of it. He ignored it and left the castle, the kids following only moments later.

"What are you going to do?" Fumu questioned.

"I am going to defeat it." Any further questions were stopped by the arrival of the demon beast.

"Get out of the way."

The kids hurriedly did; up close the octopus was certainly much more intimidating than from a distance for them.

Meta Knight looked briefly at the demon beast, which had finally caught up. It didn't waste time and breathed fire at him again, but Meta Knight wasn't overly concerned. The fire hit a pretty widespread area, though Meta Knight easily escaped.

Now there were no obstacles like the pillars earlier, and Meta Knight got a clear shot at the octopus. His next Sword Beam left a bloody trail on three of its arms, and the fire instantly stopped. Some grass was burning, but that was really of no concern to Meta Knight.

Briefly looking behind him, he saw that all kids were safe and a reasonable distance away from the fire. Good.

His opponent had used the brief distraction as another chance to attack, this time trying to grab Meta Knight, but he had expected something like that. In a flash he slashed his sword vertically, and with a fountain of blood an arm was lost for the demon.

It backed away with a screech, but Meta Knight mercilessly kept attacking.

Another two small Sword Beams injured the demon beast further, until Meta Knight finally had enough. One last Sword Beam was all it took for Octacon to die.

It exploded in a shower of sparks, something demon beasts did quite often when they died, though Meta Knight had yet to figure out why.

"Cool!"

And that was really everything that had to be said.

* * *

Everyone was happy when they heard that the demon beast had been killed. Everyone except for Dedede.

He had been whining about his destroyed throne room, the destruction throughout the whole castle, and even had another reason to whine about when he heard that his 'cute little Octacon' had been killed. The one to blame for all his problems had soon been found out.

"You destroyed my throne room and killed my Octacon!" Accusing Meta Knight was not the smartest thing to do considering it had been on Dedede's orders that Escargon had taken the ship apart. It certainly didn't improve Meta Knight's mood.

"Octacon destroyed the throne room and the castle, but yes, I killed it. Because it was a danger for everyone else."

That certainly wasn't the reason, but it would do for someone like Dedede. It wasn't like Dedede really listened to him anyway.

"See? You even admit you killed it!" he shouted angrily.

Meta Knight was about to sigh in exasperation, but decided against it. Instead he turned around, intent on simply walking away and ignoring Dedede.

"Stupid Star Warrior!"

That was, unfortunately for Dedede, a little too much to ignore. It was probably one of the worst things he could have said, though neither Dedede nor anyone else would really understand why.

Dedede had it coming, and yet his expression showed only surprise when Meta Knight turned around and punched him in the stomach, making Dedede hit the floor. He held his stomach in pain, but Meta Knight didn't care for one moment.

Meta Knight left the destroyed throne room behind, wondering why he had even bothered to talk to Dedede at all. Angrily he walked through the hallways, and all Waddle Dees kept their distance when they saw him coming.

He left the castle through the gates, and found several people waiting for him. Many of the villagers he had met so far, but hadn't bothered remembering their names, along with Fumu, Bun, Lololo and Lalala.

"Well, how did your conversation go?"

Fumu had been the one to tell him to talk to Dedede, after all he was the ruler and it would certainly not be wise to have him as an enemy. Too bad that this was exactly what had happened now.

"I punched him," Meta Knight easily replied, waiting for the reactions he was sure to get for that. He heard some coughs, some people laughed, but Fumu's face was priceless. That answer she had obviously not expected.

"You did _what_?"

"I punched him. He had it coming. He just couldn't stop and that was his reward in the end." Meta Knight paused for a moment, then, "he still has my ship. I suppose I have to threaten Escargon to get it back or something like that..." Fumu still had this same look of surprise on her face.

"So you will have to stay here anyway because you have no ship?" she asked, and Meta Knight couldn't help but notice the almost hopeful undertone in her voice. What a curious development.

"Yes, I will have to stay here."


	2. Welcome to the Game

**A/N: **Has been rewritten; title has also been changed.

* * *

**2. Welcome to the Game**

The news that Meta Knight would stay in Dreamland had spread, it seemed. It explained why no one seemed surprised that he was walking through the village with Fumu and Bun. Their concern right now was, surprisingly enough, Meta Knight and his wellbeing, when in fact he couldn't care less.

"Any ideas where you're gonna stay?" Bun asked, but Meta Knight barely listened, trying to think of more important things.

"No, but it doesn't matter. The forest will do just fine for the time being."

The looks of utter disbelief he got were no real surprise. Obviously neither Fumu nor Bun had spent a night in the forest or even contemplated ever doing it.

"The forest? We can't let you stay in the forest; you are the hero of Dreamland!" Meta Knight grimaced slightly after Fumu's exclamation. He had tried to forget that. Unfortunately he doubted he would ever be able to; he had the sneaking suspicion the villagers would never let him live this down. Unless he did something really drastic...

As if on cue several villagers smiled at their hero.

Focusing on the topic at hand again, Meta Knight gave Fumu a slightly amused look.

"Just because I go by this ridiculous title now doesn't mean I can not stay in the forest. I have suffered worse in my life." Fumu was tempted to ask what exactly he meant, he clearly saw it, but ultimately decided against it.

"Yeah right," she said, apparently unsure how to get around that topic. "Anyways, we have to arrange some place for you to stay at. Some of the villagers will surely be all too happy to have their hero with them."

Meta Knight wasn't too sure about that.

"I do not think that is a good idea..." But his protests were ignored.

Fumu and Bun took it upon themselves to find a place for Meta Knight to stay at, completely disregarding his own unhelpful and slightly annoyed attitude.

Much to their chagrin they ultimately ended up empty-handed, a fact that bothered those two more than it did Meta Knight. Sighing they sat down right outside of the village, staring at the road in a depressed fashion.

"Whatcha doing?"

Meta Knight had noticed the three kids right away; Fumu and Bun were startled by their sudden question.

"Oh, hey guys..." Bun started. "We're wondering where Meta Knight's gonna stay. Any ideas?"

The three of them had thoughtful expressions on their faces now. "Were did he stay last night then?"

Shifting their attention to Meta Knight, all of them lapsed into expectant silence.

"Well?" Fumu prompted him after he stayed silent for a few seconds. How impatient.

"I already told you I can stay in the forest. So where do you think I was last night?"

"You really stayed in the forest? I thought that was your last resort!" Meta Knight only shrugged in response, amused by their reaction. It seemed quite hard for Fumu to accept that he had a different opinion in that matter.

"Okay, but what when it rains? Will you stay in the forest then as well?" He didn't see their problem; didn't they realize that there were far worse places to stay at? But then again they wouldn't. The land was certainly called 'Dreamland' for a reason.

"You don't make this easy," Fumu complained, continuing to disregard Meta Knight's opinion. He just accepted his fate for now, realizing that resisting would do him no good.

"Can't you just stay in the castle? I mean, it's huge! There's gotta be some room you can use," Bun suggested next. There was certainly truth in that statement, but Bun neglected to consider one fact.

"That is pointless now. I punched Dedede, and even if I wonder how someone like him ended up as the king, the fact remains that he _is_ the king. Do you think he will let me stay?" All of them shook their heads. "Exactly. I think it is no exaggeration when I say that he hates me; in fact my feelings are similar in that regard."

"You really don't like Dedede, huh?" Bun grinned at Meta Knight, clearly impressed by his statement. Meta Knight didn't even deign to answer, after all he had just said exactly that, had even gone a little farther with his statement.

"The fact that you don't like Dedede aside, where will you stay now?" Fumu had not taken the bait. She stubbornly refused to change the topic, destroying Meta Knight's hope of getting rid of them any time soon.

"Fumu, look-" he started, but was rudely interrupted by one of the other kids. He didn't even know their names, and didn't particularly care for them either, yet they had obviously taken an interest in him and his situation.

"Can't we just build a home for him?"

Now that was an interesting question, and Meta Knight saw all others look at the small girl who had spoken in surprise. Could they?

"Of course! That's a great idea, Honey! Let's ask some of the others to help us!" was the overly enthusiastic reply; exactly the reply Meta Knight had dreaded.

The three Cappy children and Bun had already run off, without a doubt shouting their great idea for everyone to hear right in the middle of the village.

Fumu had stayed back; she didn't seem as annoyed with that idea as Meta Knight, but her face had taken a contemplative expression.

"You know, that idea isn't bad." Meta Knight just looked blankly at her, not that she could tell with his mask hiding his face. "Of course they are a little hasty, but I think we might actually be able to make this work."

"But you do realize how you have nothing planned? No location, nothing to build a house with, probably no knowledge on how to build a house either?"

To his surprise Fumu actually smiled. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out."

She left Meta Knight behind and also walked back into the village.

This whole situation he found himself in was getting stranger and stranger. Those people certainly just saw it as kindness or repaying him for getting rid of Octacon, yet Meta Knight saw it for what it really was.

They saw what was going on, yet were too blind to see anything. Meta Knight hadn't had an ulterior motive when he had killed the demon beast, but those people were foolish enough to trust him immediately.

They were wrong to trust him at all, and sooner or later they would certainly also realize that, but for now he would use the fact that he was trusted; a foreign feeling.

Following the kids, he couldn't shake the feeling that something would happen while they tried to build a home for him.

* * *

Some hours later surprisingly Meta Knight's prediction still hadn't come true.

The kids had actually managed to get their hands on the needed tools, and had also got some of the adults to help them. The progress they had made was astounding, and Meta Knight couldn't help but be impressed. With their lack of planning he hadn't expected anything.

The location they had chosen might not be the smartest choice, but who was he to complain? They had chosen a huge tree; not just under the tree but on the tree after a yellow bird named Tokkori had annoyed them for some time.

Their reasoning escaped Meta Knight, but that didn't really matter. They made much progress and actually managed to finish by afternoon, prompting Meta Knight to be even more impressed. That had certainly been sooner than expected.

Some time later even all villagers had gathered in front of what would soon become his home. The obligatory speech had to be made by the Mayor, but Meta knight wouldn't complain, just like the day before.

"The house was completed thanks to everyone's cooperation!" Fumu began, smiling widely at everyone present. 'Everyone' happened to be a slight exaggeration, but Meta Knight figured it would be best not to mention that.

"And here is our guest of honor, Meta Knight!"

At least he didn't have to smile. No one would be able to see if he did or didn't do it anyway.

* * *

While the villagers were celebrating the completion of Meta Knight's new home, Dedede wasn't in the mood to celebrate anything at all. He was still angry at Meta Knight, and he would definitely pay him back for what he had done.

He also knew exactly how he would do that: ordering a demon beast from Holy Nightmare Corporation would certainly do the trick.

"How might I be of assistance, King Dedede?"

The ever smiling Customer Service appeared on the screen in front of him, the sunglasses hiding everything except for that smile. It should have been obvious what Dedede wanted!

"Octacon was killed! I need a new demon beast!" he shouted, much too frustrated to treat Customer Service in any other way. He didn't seem to care, his smile stayed just the same.

"Oh? What killed Octacon if I may ask?" he asked, infuriating Dedede with his calm tone. He was angry; he didn't want Customer Service to be calm right now!

"That stupid Star Warrior, Meta Knight!"

Customer Service's smile instantly vanished when he heard that name. That was better.

"That explains some things..." Dedede wasn't sure if Customer Service was even talking to him now. The smile returned. "Well, we will send you a new one, but it won't be cheap."

Escargon, whom he had completely ignored so far, tried to object, but Dedede had already agreed before he could speak. He didn't care. If it was for getting rid of Meta Knight he might even pay for once.

"Send one already. As long as it's a strong one I don't care!"

"I will send Blocky to you right away," was the cheerful answer, and some seconds later the transporter lit up in a shower of sparks. Anticipating a really strong one this time, Dedede's face contorted into a frown when he saw what had been sent.

"What's that?" he asked, frowning down on the simple stone block. He wouldn't pay for something like that!

"That is Blocky. Don't worry, that is not its true form."

Customer Service used a remote and the block began to glow. It became bigger and bigger, and finally Blocky's true form was revealed. It was still only a block, and didn't seem all that impressive, but now it was at least bigger than Dedede.

He continued to frown, though, still not satisfied.

He turned in Customer Service's direction, frown firmly in place. Customer Service just pointed at the demon beast, and now curious Dedede turned back around.

Blocky jumped down from the transporter, and for a moment nothing happened. The there was an ominous cracking noise, and the demon beast crashed down through the floor. Dedede looked at the spot where it had been before, expression dumbfounded.

"As you can see it is quite heavy. Perfect for crushing all sorts of opponents."

Dedede chose to ignore Customer Service. Finding the demon beast again and see what kind of damage it had done to his castle seemed more important.

* * *

Far away, in a place where darkness ruled, Customer Service cut off the connection. He turned around, expecting some sort of reaction to the revelation that had just been made. He wasn't disappointed.

"So he is in Dreamland." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, that is what he said. He also spoke about the _Star Warrior_ Meta Knight." There was a pause, then, "What are we going to do?" His question was ignored.

"It is no wonder that Octacon died. It was far too weak a demon beast to stand a chance against Meta Knight."

Customer Service felt how the mood had changed. Nightmare was interested in the fact that Meta Knight had appeared, but not overly so. Or maybe he just hid it?

"Continue as before for the time being. Now that Meta Knight has appeared again, sooner or later we will meet again."

* * *

Meta Knight should have known that his prediction from several hours ago would come true after all. Without actually knowing Dedede, he had still not misjudged him. Revenge, that was what this was.

It started as a slight tremor of the ground first, and ended with a smirking Dedede and Escargon in their tank, a demon beast right next to them.

"What is _that_?"

Before Meta Knight was able to answer the question, everyone had long since fled, leaving himself with Fumu, Bun and surprisingly Tokkori behind. He could accuse the villagers of cowardice now, but maybe it was better that they were no longer present. Like this they wouldn't get in the way.

"That is the demon beast Blocky," he answered the question from before, Fumu and Bun unimpressed by the name at least.

"... are you for real?"

"Do you think I would make a name like _this_ up?"

"Hey Meta Knight!" Dedede interrupted them, "face your worst nightmare yet!" At least Dedede did not seem bothered by the name at all.

Meta Knight sighed almost imperceptibly. Another demon beast so soon was certainly not what he had thought of when predicting that something would happen. Then again... if Customer Service knew he was in Dreamland that wouldn't be the last demon beast Meta Knight would meet.

"Blocky is certainly not my worst nightmare. I met scarier demon beasts in my life. In fact I also met Nightmare, and I think he might fit the description a little more," Meta Knight answered in a bored tone, and Fumu next to him gasped.

"Nightmare-?" But Dedede never gave her the chance to ask her question.

"Get him!" he bellowed in anger, not taking it well that Meta Knight was far from impressed with his newest demon beast.

Blocky instantly complied, albeit much slower than Dedede would have liked. Meta Knight gestured for Fumu and Bun to get away, and then got out of the way of any attack that might come his way.

The demon beast didn't even come close to hitting him, so much slower than Meta Knight that it didn't take any effort for him to stay out of its way. Dedede's level of frustration rose significantly when four attempts later Blocky still hadn't come any closer to hitting its opponent, and said opponent had not even drawn his weapon.

"Do something!"

And something it did. Meta Knight wasn't quite sure if it had been on purpose or not, but it made him quite angry suddenly. The demon beast had uprooted the tree behind Meta Knight, the same tree the house happened to be located on.

With a deafening crash house and tree collapsed to the ground, all the day's work for naught.

Meta Knight paused in his movement, attention on the tree; its branches had cracked and now lay scattered on the ground, along with the remains of the house. He clenched his fists in anger.

In a motion too fast for anyone else to follow he whipped his sword Galaxia out, a Sword Beam tearing a chunk out of the demon beast's body. It stopped all movement, surprise at his sudden and violent reaction evident.

But Meta Knight didn't care at the moment; he saw red, literally, for he knew his eyes had turned red in his anger. Another Sword Beam cut the demon beast right in half, an expression of surprise still on its face.

Surprisingly it broke into four parts, yet Meta Knight barely noticed as his eyes turned to Dedede. He looked a little nervous now, and Meta Knight smirked behind his mask as he approached.

"Ah wait..."

But he wouldn't. Dragging Galaxia over the ground left a trail straight in direction of Dedede and his tank (Meta Knight didn't care for Escargon), and if Dedede didn't do the smart thing and left, it would also be a trail ending with blood.

Absorbed in his thoughts of punishment for Dedede, Meta Knight heard neither Fumu's shout, nor was he prepared for the sudden attack from behind.

Something slammed into him, made him lose his balance and stumble forward. He instantly slashed at the space behind him, but didn't hit his opponent, hit only thin air. And it was not just one opponent now, but four.

In front of him stood four... bricks for lack of better word, all of them much smaller than Blocky had been, but certainly much faster. Four... those were the remains of Blocky, Meta Knight realized, destroying it once hadn't been enough.

Growling in anger Meta Knight charged at the first, intending to slash it into pieces. It backed off, while at the same time the other three surrounded him, all three of them attacking at the same time.

Meta Knight ducked under the first attack, and also managed to escape the second, the third, however, hit. One of the demon beasts slammed into him from his right side, and while Meta Knight lost his balance, he still managed to strike at his opponent.

Using the ensuing momentum, Meta Knight turned and once again cut stone in half, the much smaller version of Blocky falling to the ground defeated.

Still in the same motion, Meta Knight was unable to dodge the next attack. The one he had been purchasing suddenly appeared in his vision, and crashed into him, making Meta Knight hit the ground painfully.

He got up immediately, knowing full well that staying on the ground would only bring him more pain. He was right on time; one demon beast was crashing down to the ground exactly where Meta Knight had been before.

It only hit the ground, and wasn't fast enough to get out of the way as Meta Knight attacked. He smashed it into pieces with his sword with sheer force this time, not bothering to cut it in half like he had done with the one before.

The next attack followed promptly, and for lack of other options Meta Knight chose to use brute force again - only this time without a weapon. He punched the next demon right in the face with all his might, resulting in an alarming cracking noise that was fortunately not his hand.

Not pausing for even a moment, Meta Knight attacked, catching both his attackers in a Sword Beam.

"Heh."

That had been a little more taxing than expected. Yet satisfied with the outcome of all four opponents (or their remains) lying on the ground, Meta Knight focused his attention back on Dedede.

"Now..." he drawled, making Dedede, who had been cheering his demon beasts on for the last few moments of their existence, grimace. It wasn't worry, though.

The one to worry was Escargon. He frantically whispered something to Dedede, who deliberately ignored him. Seemed like the assistant was smarter than the king then.

Meta Knight had calmed down by now, sure that his eyes had changed back to their normal color again. It didn't change the fact that he was still angry, however.

"Whatcha gonna do now, huh?" Dedede asked, challenging Meta Knight to _actually_ do something. Smirking Meta Knight went closer. He wouldn't kill him, but pain-

Meta Knight blocked a sudden attack from behind, this time noticing before he was hit.

"What the-?"

The four opponents from before stood in front of him, perfectly alright. Meta Knight scowled.

"Regeneration, hm? That was fast. I wonder what other ability you lost for this one." Predictably there was no response, all four demon beasts charging at him.

He dodged three attacks and deflected the fourth one away, realizing how destroying his opponents again wouldn't do him much good with their ability to regenerate.

Distantly he noticed that Fumu and Bun were cheering him on, just as Dedede cheered his four demon beasts on. Escargon kept silent, evoking Meta Knight's curiosity. That reaction needed investigation.

But for now there were more important things to worry about. With his four opponents more or less indestructible, Meta Knight was forced to make a change of plan. He didn't doubt that their ability would fail them after a certain number of uses, yet to destroy them over and over again included the risk of Meta Knight running out of energy himself.

He wouldn't risk it; not when there was another, much simpler way to get rid of this problem. After all, as far as Meta Knight knew, stone really didn't float well.

Now he only had to get them to a place where there was water, preferably the ocean. He wouldn't have done it if his opponent was someone else, but Dedede was easy enough to predict.

"Follow him!"

Running away was not his preferred method in a fight, but this time he would make an exception. If it got him certain victory he was all too happy to appear afraid of his opponent for the time being; everyone else would understand his plan soon enough.

Predictably they followed him - all of them. Fumu, Bun and even Tokkori were following, at a pace much too slow to catch up to him again, though. Dedede and Escargon were much faster in that regard, but with their tank they were unable to follow the same path Meta Knight chose.

As such they all missed how Meta Knight made short work of his four opponents.

The demon beasts had had no problem with following through the rocky landscape close to the ocean and found themselves on exactly the same cliff Meta Knight had chosen, but unfortunately for them they had lost sight of Meta Knight at one point. Consequently sneaking up on them, he had no problem with destroying two of them before the other two even noticed.

The two defeated ones ignored, he had no problem with kicking the other two mercilessly into the ocean before they even had a chance to defend themselves. Knowing full well that they wouldn't resurface again, Meta Knight shifted to the regenerating parts behind him.

The same fate awaited them before they had even managed to fully regenerate, and Meta Knight noted the sound he heard when they hit the water's surface with some satisfaction. That had ultimately been almost too easy.

Choosing a rock to wait on for the people who were following, Meta Knight didn't have to wait for long. Surprisingly Fumu, Bun and Tokkori arrived before Dedede and Escargon, but maybe that wasn't all that surprising considering that their tank wouldn't get past all those rocks.

"You took your time," was Meta Knight's way of a greeting, all three of them looking up in surprise.

"Where are those demon beats?"

"Dead," he said. "Drowned in the ocean. Quite the ridiculous way to die for something that strong."

"Aw, and we missed it!"

"Yeah, that's stupid!"

Bun and Tokkori seemed only disappointed by the fact that they had missed Meta Knight defeating his opponents; Fumu frowned in what Meta Knight supposed was displeasure.

"To die drowning is ridiculous?" she asked, her tone of voice showing her irritation at his statement.

Before Meta Knight had the chance to answer, Dedede and Escargon finally arrived; Dedede clearly angry at Escargon for it taking this long.

"What happened?" he bellowed in anger when he saw them standing around, with no trace of his demon beast.

"Your demon beast died," was the dry answer, and Dedede certainly understood how Meta Knight meant _permanently_. "Now you better leave if you don't want to suffer a similar fate."

Dedede was tempted to stay, Meta Knight was quite certain of that, but Escargon diverted his attention to himself. He told Dedede... something, and with an angry snort he turned away.

"Tsk!"

Meta Knight saw Escargon breathe a sigh of relief before they drove away.

* * *

All of their work had been for nothing. That was the general opinion, and Meta Knight was almost the only one not frustrated by the day's events. By some miracle Fumu and Bun had managed to get everyone together and build a new house, and actually finish the thing before nightfall.

How they had done that, Meta Knight would never know.

The new location was under a tree, Tokkori's tree to be exact. It was a mystery to him why they had chosen that exact tree, yet he didn't care enough to try and find out a reason.

By now night had fallen, and Meta Knight had been left alone, silence all around. It was the perfect time to be somewhere else.

Unsurprisingly he met no one else outside; everyone had long since gone home to get away from the darkness. Yet Meta Knight chose to use the darkness to his advantage, hiding his movements.

He easily entered the castle, unseen, slipping past all the patrolling Waddle Dee with ease. Now where to go?

The hallways looked all more or less the same, but at least they weren't identical to each other. Meta Knight knew other places where it was far harder to find his way around because of exactly that reason.

Still, the fact remained that he didn't know his exact destination or the layout of the castle. Maybe it was even a little too late to find who he was looking for? But no, it was already dark, but not all that late; he would have a nice talk with Escargon today.

Finding the throne room first, Meta Knight decided to listen on the door and find out what was going on. Dedede inside seemed really angry, enraged even, but Meta Knight didn't care for him. What interested him was the almost timid voice of Escargon answering. Good, he had found him then.

He waited for only a few minutes, then Escargon left the room, an indignant expression on his face. Meta Knight followed close behind, keeping to the shadows whenever possible, and Escargon never noticed before Meta Knight revealed himself.

"Escargon."

He had just opened the door to his room, but whirled around in surprise and at the same time took a step back, opening the door completely.

"How did you-?"

Meta Knight advanced towards him, ignoring the question for the moment. Escargon took a few steps back, neglected to close the door though, and Meta Knight followed into the room, closing the door behind them.

"How did I get into the castle?" he asked, amusedly noting Escargon's trepidation. "The Waddle Dee around the castle are no match for me."

"W-what do you want from me?" That seemed to be of bigger concern to Escargon, understandably so. Meta Knight smirked.

"Mainly, I want to talk to you," he said, not surprised that Escargon had obviously not expected that answer.

"Talk?" he asked, a question to which Meta Knight only nodded his head once. "About what?"

"You, me, this planet, the _situation_..." Meta Knight trailed off, Escargon's curiosity sparked.

"The situation you say? The situation where you threatened the king of this land?" he asked, accusingly now.

"Exactly that," Meta Knight replied. "I threatened _him_, yet you were the one who was worried and interpreted the situation correctly. Did you know I would have attacked him, or are you always this worried?"

Meta Knight was looking around the room now, purposefully not looking at Escargon. In a way his room was interesting; in another it was completely boring. Book cases were lining the walls, and with interest Meta Knight noted the variety of different books. Mostly scientific topics, but there were also some books he thought were normal novels.

The other interesting thing was the workbench littered with various machine parts. It seemed Escargon knew what he was doing in that regard; maybe he would be able to convince Escargon to let him use his knowledge with machines some time in the future.

Meta Knight looked back at Escargon, who had gone slightly pale.

"So you _really_ would have attacked..." He looked briefly at the ground, in thought, then he looked back at Meta Knight. "Yes... yes I think I knew."

"Do you know why you knew when Dedede didn't? Because you are smart."

Escargon looked surprised, but Meta Knight had expected nothing else. "From what I saw you are one of the smartest people here, if not the smartest. Much smarter than your pathetic king at any rate."

There also was Fumu, but Meta Knight wasn't quite sure with her. She was smart, even too smart for her age and certainly smarter than anyone else he had met on this planet, but she was different. Fascinated with him, yes, and unfortunately also able to see part of his real self. How fortunate or unfortunate that was exactly, only time would tell.

There was no answer, and Meta Knight continued. "I wonder..." pretending to be thoughtful, "why do you follow his orders?"

"I..." Escargon began, but stopped with a contemplative expression. "I follow his orders... because he is the king."

Meta Knight laughed, Escargon shooting him an irritated look. "I suppose that is a reason, but don't you think that reasoning is flawed? Of course he is the king, but one who doesn't really care for anyone's wellbeing other than that of himself. Those two stunts he pulled illustrate that nicely, no?"

"You say flawed, but I don't see why it would be wrong to follow his orders because of that," was the stubborn reply, and Meta Knight had expected it although he saw Escargon's faith wavered.

"Flawed because people are not going to take this behavior forever. Sooner or later they are going to stand up to him, and what do you think happens to his assistant then?"

Escargon frowned. "You talk like you know this is going to happen here. The Cappies aren't suddenly going to rebel and overthrow him; they are content with their lives."

"Yes," Meta Knight drawled. "But do you think they are going to be content when a demon beast kills someone, on the king's orders no less? Be smart and act. Didn't we establish the fact that you are smarter than the king?"

Escargon hesitated to defend Dedede.

* * *

That could be called a success. Escargon was certainly not completely on Meta Knight's side, but he wasn't on Dedede's either. Meta Knight had even gotten Escargon to promise to return his ship, which he knew Dedede still had somewhere.

It was one of his concerns more or less resolved for the moment at least, even if he knew there still was more, and more would come up.

Slipping by the Waddle Dee proved easy, effortless even, and no one except for Escargon had even noticed his visit to the castle. With a security like this skilled attackers would have no trouble; Meta Knight wasn't the only one who would be able to enter the castle even without permission.

He was still angry because he had crash-landed on this planet in the first place, but maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be quite as bad and _boring_ as he had feared. Dedede might prove to create some entertainment if Meta Knight didn't kill him any time soon, and Escargon and Fumu were still mostly unknown factors. The others could be neglected.

He laughed, elated with the results of this day, not regretting his slightly insidious actions in the least.

"Welcome to the game, Dreamland."


	3. Black Clouds

******A/N: **Has been rewritten; title has also been changed.

* * *

**3. Black Clouds**

"Meta Knight, you say?"

"Yes, that is the name I go by."

This didn't exactly go like he had planned. In fact Kabu already proved to be an annoyance, but then again Meta Knight had fully expected that. In that regard every Kabu was the same, though admittedly this one was a little worse than the others he had met even. It didn't stop him from trying to find out something useful.

"Do you know what is going on in the universe?" he asked, and was rewarded with silence for a few moments.

"There is a war going on. Nightmare's forces defeated the Galaxy Soldier Army, but some still resist. I do not know any details of their fight."

Meta Knight nodded.

"Yes, they have been betrayed by one of their own and were defeated. Most Star Warriors have been killed, and only few remain to oppose Nightmare. Sooner or later they are all going to die."

"So sure you seem. Do you know of the legend of 'Kirby of the Stars'?" Kabu asked, and Meta Knight tensed for a moment. There was that name again.

"Kirby..." The second time he was confronted with that name already. "What is this legend about?"

Again there was a pause. "Kirby of the Stars will come to this planet to aid us," Kabu answered, and Meta Knight waited for him to go on. He didn't, and Meta Knight blinked in surprise.

"That's it?" Kabu gave no answer. "So they have been waiting for their legendary hero Kirby and got me instead? Meta Knight instead of Kirby; I wonder how they were able to ignore the obvious difference in name that easily."

Kabu didn't seem in the mood to answer that, and Meta Knight turned around, slightly angry at the fact that he was being ignored.

"Meta Knight isn't your name."

That made him turn back around, for several reasons. This was not good, not good at all. He should have expected this Kabu to know things he shouldn't know as well; the others he had met had had the same frustrating ability.

"It is the name I go by," he answered carefully, trying not to sound angry when in fact he was. Getting angry at Kabu never helped, and would only result in more frustration later on. "It has been my name for a long time."

"Yes, but nevertheless there are those who know."

"You mean Nightmare," Meta Knight concluded. "He has always known, but that hasn't changed anything."

Again Kabu didn't answer right away, waiting for whatever reason. "Nightmare, there is a reason why he ended up victorious." Meta Knight waited for him to go on. "He is darkness, a dream that lives in people's hearts, ultimately immortal," he said, and as much as he would like to deny it, Meta Knight already knew this.

"He had time, so much time to plan everything, and he proved to be so much smarter than his opponents, having foreseen every possible move they could make. Time was and still is on his side, and will forever be. However, Nightmare became bored, arrogant.

"Time worked against his enemies, and Nightmare created the greatest threat to his safety himself." Kabu paused, giving Meta Knight the time to think about what he had heard.

"Kirby of the Stars..." he whispered, lost in thought for a moment. "But there is... Nightmare fears only _one_ thing."

"There are powerful objects in this world, Meta Knight, some of which might be able to banish Nightmare's power. I do not know their locations, nor their names, but even Nightmare has a weakness."

How interesting. Meta Knight had known that, but hadn't expected this Kabu to know it as well. He had known, yet he had never acted on it, refusing to even try and attack Nightmare directly, knowing full well that it wouldn't do him any good.

Now, though, Kabu had mentioned _objects_, more than one. He had known about one for the longest time now, but had never heard more than whispers about its location. But more than one...

Reflexively he looked down at his own weapon. There was a legend about it as well, he had not thought about the fact if it could defeat Nightmare, though, because there had always been more pressing matters.

"Thank you," he said distractedly and left, for the moment not interested in what else Kabu might have to say.

* * *

"Oh, there you are!"

And he already regretted it, too.

Meta Knight had not even reached the village yet, but Fumu and Bun had already spotted him. They walked closer, and for some reason they seemed excited. That didn't bode well.

"Yes," he simply answered, waiting for them to say why they had obviously waited for him. They failed to answer immediately, and Meta Knight was about to just turn around and walk away.

"Where've you been?" Bun asked curiously before he could, and Meta Knight's gaze wandered to him.

"Around," he answered cryptically, refusing to give anything that didn't matter to them away. Rather something they weren't supposed to know.

Bun seemed a little disappointed that Meta Knight hadn't really answered his question, Fumu, however, did not.

"We've been wondering... Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where did you come from?" she asked, voice hopeful. How unfortunate then that Meta Knight would mercilessly crush that hope and wouldn't even feel bad about it.

"I could tell you about me," he began, "but I will not." Now Fumu seemed just as disappointed as Bun.

"Why not?" she asked. "Do you have something to hide?"

"Yes," he answered, and was rewarded with two incredulous stares. "I feel it is better if my life remains a mystery to you. You wouldn't want to be killed because of your knowledge, would you?"

They paled, and Meta Knight felt he might have overdone it a little now. Then again it would certainly keep them from asking any more questions. Or maybe not.

"_What_ did you do?" Meta Knight frowned. That had backfired then.

"I lived on."

Neither Fumu nor Bun seemed to know what to reply, and all of them lapsed into silence for a while.

Meta Knight wasn't even sure why he had refused to answer their question; was it really so bad if they knew? The answer was probably yes, but he just couldn't predict their reaction. They had misunderstood his introduction, and telling them otherwise now... _He_ wouldn't mind them knowing, but he had to consider that he had no means of leaving this planet.

Because of that it was certainly better to let all of them live with their illusions of him; he would deal with them finding out the truth if it came to that.

It was concerning how all of his conversations revolved around his past today. Not only Kabu, but Fumu and Bun had asked as well. Fumu and Bun were only curious, certainly they were not the only ones even; Kabu was a different matter altogether.

He had vaguely hinted at things... Things Meta Knight would have liked to forget; things better left buried somewhere, to be forgotten by everyone.

He hadn't known of the legend of 'Kirby of the Stars'; the first time he had ever encountered it was when Fumu had mentioned it as he first arrived. To think there was such a thing... If Nightmare knew there would be serious problems in the future.

"-then?"

Meta Knight blinked in surprise. Fumu had been talking to him, but he hadn't even noticed. She seemed to misunderstand his confusion, for instead of repeating her question, she elaborated on it, though.

"I mean... any hobbies or something like that? We don't know, so we have to ask," she said, and Meta Knight got the feeling she showed a little too much interest even. This type of question he could answer, though.

"No," he answered blandly, and focused his attention on the landscape. Endless grassy fields, a few trees, a few rocks; nothing exceptional about Dreamland's landscape. He knew it wasn't everything, but the landscape in immediate vicinity to the village was boring.

"Are you serious? Whatcha gonna do the whole day?" Bun exclaimed; Meta Knight had fully expected that reaction.

"I will find something to do. I am also certain Dedede will provide some entertainment if I fail to find something myself."

"A demon beast you mean? You call _that_ entertainment?"

"Entertainment, annoyance, it makes no difference in the end. If I don't kill them you will be attacked."

They surely saw he had a point. Unfortunately they didn't get to respond anything, for at exactly that moment Dedede appeared in the distance, the roaring of his tank giving him instantly away.

That in itself wasn't any reason for much concern yet; the thundercloud that so obviously followed Dedede all the more so. This was not good. Meta Knight could think of exactly one demon beast that looked like a thundercloud, and he would be hard-pressed to defeat exactly that one.

He grimaced. So much for them not knowing the truth.

"Meta Knight!" Dedede shouted, pointing his finger at him in what Meta Knight guessed was supposed to be a threatening gesture. "You're gonna pay!"

Escargon, driving the tank they were both sitting in, seemed all but happy with the situation, and he wasn't the only one. Fumu and Bun were instantly suspicious of Dedede, and with good reason.

"What do you want?"

As if that hadn't been obvious enough before asking. Then again, even with Dedede shouting at Meta Knight, neither Fumu nor Bun were aware of what exactly the cloud above was, if they had even noticed something unusual about it.

Meta Knight tensed as Dedede and Escargon arrived directly in front of them, the demon beast hovering ominously in the skies above them, hidden in the clouds.

"I want _him_," he pointed at Meta Knight, "gone! He's havin' a bad influence on my kingdom!"

"And which bad influence exactly would that be? The fact that your demon beasts don't survive long enough for you to terrorize the people? That is certainly evil of me," Meta Knight replied dryly, well aware that Dedede wouldn't tolerate his words.

"Kill him!" Just as expected Dedede was not amused, and Meta Knight had barely enough time to jump back and dodge the lightning from the black clouds above that suddenly came crashing down.

"Whoa!"

"W-what?"

Fumu and Bun had been far enough away, if still too close for comfort. Meta Knight had no time to make sure if they were completely alright, however, was busy with trying not to be hit himself.

"That's he demon beast Kracko," he heard Dedede tell Fumu and Bun, but he had strongly suspected this before. "Meta Knight has no chance; he's gonna die now!"

Not if he had any say in the matter.

Failing to come up with a way of attacking Kracko directly, Meta Knight resolved to make it attack someone else instead. Jumping on top of the tank, he pushed himself off just as Kracko took the next shot at him.

He doubted that Dedede would be able to survive being hit by lightning, and even if Escargon would unfortunately also bite the dust, Meta Knight would just dismiss it as collateral damage.

Fortunately for them Kracko missed, the thunderbolt striking right beside the tank. Meta Knight suspected that was not because Kracko had had any qualms about hitting Dedede, but rather because it knew Meta Knight wouldn't stay in one place.

Kracko was definitely more troublesome than the other two had been.

With his plan having backfired, Meta Knight resolved to keep dodging attacks for the time being. It was certainly no ideal plan either, but there was little else he could do. As long as Kracko didn't lose sight of him, it would be close to impossible to approach it right now.

Wherever Meta Knight went, Kracko was always close behind. He had long since left the other four people behind, and found himself somewhere in the vast nothingness of green that were Dreamland's grasslands. It would be absolutely impossible to lose Kracko here, and Meta Knight could find nothing positive with the situation he was currently in.

Maybe that he was still alive, but nothing more.

Their lethal game of tag continued for another half an hour, until Meta Knight finally realized that he would be utterly incapable of harming his opponent in any way from the ground. His only chance was attacking the demon beast from the skies, and that was exactly where the problem lay.

They had moved closer to the village again after Meta Knight had failed to get rid of Kracko even in the rocky terrain near the ocean, and at least Fumu, Bun, Dedede and Escargon had perfect view on what was happening now. There were several others who had noticed the unusual weather phenomenon as well, and Meta Knight was sure even they had noticed that the lightning was specifically targeting him.

Kracko had come really close to hitting him a few times, and Meta Knight could still feel the searing heat. He distantly wondered if his opponent would be able to keep this up the whole day, or if it would run out of energy.

He abruptly stopped after the next attack, and instead of attacking again, Kracko stopped its assault as well.

"Finish him!" Dedede shouted from the distance, but neither of them paid him any attention.

Meta Knight looked calmly up at the raging storm above, daring Kracko to attack him again.

Lightning flashed in the sky as it charged its attack; this one much more powerful than any of the others before. But Meta Knight had known this would happen; wasn't exactly prepared for it, but if everything failed it wouldn't matter any longer, because he would probably be dead.

Kracko struck at exactly the same moment as Meta Knight whipped out Galaxia; what he had hoped would happen, actually happened. Galaxia was a weapon using the power of electricity, and in a fight electricity versus electricity it was always going to win.

Given enough time it would probably even have absorbed Kracko's attack, but something prevented that. While Galaxia had taken most electricity and with that also negated most damage, Meta Knight was still a living being and thus took damage from being hit by electricity.

Pain, pain everywhere, and even if he knew that it wasn't nearly as strong as before, Kracko's attack was still a little too much. He had to get away; where to didn't matter, just as long as the electricity stopped coursing through his whole body.

Let them think he had died; what did it matter for the moment? Meta Knight felt only relieved when he was able to wrap his cape around himself and get away.

* * *

"Fumu, what is it you have to ask of Kabu?"

She had always wondered about Kabu's sometimes strange speech pattern. But it didn't really matter, she supposed; there were other, more important things right now.

"What is going to happen?" she asked, although she already knew that Kabu wouldn't answer this question.

"I can't tell," but she suspected he just didn't want to tell. Maybe she was just being mean because the threat of what Dedede had called Kracko seriously frightened her, though.

"You sure you can't? The situation's kinda bad right now," Bun said from right next to her and frowned at Kabu, who predictably didn't show any indication of noticing this reaction.

"... Meta Knight's arrival was only the beginning. Other important things are going to happen," Kabu conceded after a few moments of silence, and that was at least _something_.

"Oh good," Bun began, unpleasantly unfriendly, "because, you know, he's dead now anyway."

Fumu frowned at him, about to rebuke him for his remark, when Kabu already beat her to it.

"He isn't dead."

"He's not?"

Well, that was good. But it left one (several) question(s).

"How do you know?" she asked, actually curious for the answer. Kabu was rather confined to this valley, and would therefore be unable to know what was going on elsewhere. Granted, he knew many things; things Fumu was sure few people in general knew, but maybe Meta Knight had told him himself?

"Kabu knows many things."

Which translated to something along the lines of "I won't tell you", but that was just as well. It was enough for Fumu to know that Meta Knight wasn't dead.

"What do you know about the demon beasts?"

Another thing Fumu was deeply interested in. So far she hadn't been able to find out much, and Kabu had barely told them anything before. Meta Knight would probably know a little more, but at the moment it was a little hard to ask him. Maybe Kabu could actually tell more; after all he had also been the first to mention the term.

"They are created by Nightmare," Kabu simply answered, repeating his answer from some days ago.

"Yes, we know. But _why_ are they here?" Fumu slowly but surely became frustrated with Kabu giving that kind of answers. Was it so hard to give them a real answer?

"The Holy Nightmare Corporation sends demon beasts to customers. It is a way for Nightmare to gain control of planets he hasn't conquered yet."

"Eh?" Bun exclaimed before Fumu was able to make any comment. "So that guy's trying to conquer Pop Star?"

"Yes, now that the Galaxy Soldier Army has been mostly defeated, Nightmare has no need to launch grand attacks at planets he wants to conquer."

"Galaxy Soldier Army?"

"They fought Nightmare, but they were betrayed and are now almost completely destroyed."

That was at least a little more information now, and Fumu wouldn't push her luck. That was more than she had actually expected from Kabu, because even if he was helpful, he also had a talent for using cryptic statements.

"Alright, thank you, Kabu," she said and turned around, already dreading her return to the castle.

"But Kabu, how do you know these things?" Bun asked as he turned back around for a moment, and Fumu stopped as well, curious if Kabu would answer this question.

"Meta Knight told me."

That had been on her mind for most of the walk back through the Valley of Kabu, the village and finally the castle. Meta Knight had talked to Kabu, and instead of having Kabu tell Meta Knight something, it had obviously been the other way round.

What else had he told Kabu?

Wondering about that, she had at least not thought for one moment about Kracko. Only when they had reached the castle again, did Fumu actually remember. Her mood worsened, and she didn't even acknowledge Escargon's presence when they met him on the way to their home.

Finally at home her mood got only marginally better, and reached rock bottom when Dedede ordered their presence in the throne room. Her parents chattered happily on the way, a little perplexed that Dedede had summoned them.

Arriving in the throne room, the first thing Fumu noticed was Dedede's smug expression. The next thing was Escargon's neutral expression, and Fumu wondered why he didn't show a little more enthusiasm.

"Some of ya already know, but imma repeat it for the others: Kracko's here and it's gonna protect me now," Dedede said, and Fumu could see her parents' confusion at hearing the unfamiliar name.

Waddle Doo, captain of the castle's guard whom she had completely ignored before, looked just as confused.

"Your Majesty, who is Kracko?"

Dedede dismissed the question with a movement of his hand. "Doesn't matter. It's protectin' me now; that's all ya need to know."

"Protecting you from what, I wonder," Fumu remarked quietly, but made sure everyone heard her anyway. Dedede faced her with an angry expression.

"There're many dangers!" he shouted. "Meta Knight is dead now, but there're other dangerous things everywhere!"

That hadn't been the smartest thing to say. Her parents gasped in obvious surprise; Waddle Doo seemed merely curious at what was going on, but from what Fumu knew he had never even met Meta Knight.

"Meta Knight is dead?"

Dedede grinned, and Fumu would have liked nothing more than tell him that he was wrong. But for the moment she refrained. "Yeah, no danger from him any more."

"But he seemed nice enough... I can't imagine he was dangerous," her mother said, making Fumu wonder where that assumption came from. As far as she knew her mother also hadn't talked to him.

"He was-" Dedede started, but thought better of it right inside of his sentence. "Doesn't matter. With Kracko around I'm safe."

"Of course," Fumu said with an icy tone of voice. "Let's see how long that lasts."

* * *

It lasted until the next day at least. Surprisingly enough Fumu had seen neither Kracko nor Dedede until afternoon, making her wonder why Dedede chose not to brag about Meta Knight's supposedly death.

Maybe he had just anticipated it for the whole day, though. That at least was the feeling Fumu got when he finally appeared in the village, the ominous black cloud that Fumu knew to be Kracko following him.

"Isn't it nice weather today?" Dedede asked smugly, while Escargon right next to him looked like he wished to be somewhere far away. Fumu hadn't even noticed that Escargon was obviously not happy with the situation before.

The people all around in the village looked perplexed at Dedede until they noticed the sky. It was a perfectly cloudless sky over Dreamland, except for the space directly above Dedede. The roll of thunder could be heard, however faint it was, and Fumu was almost certain that it was the demon beast threatening them.

Fumu looked up with an uneasy feeling, fearing the worst with Kracko directly above Dedede and the village. If it decided to attack... None of them would be able to survive being hit by lightning.

No one had answered Dedede's question until now, and Fumu was almost certain that no one would dare. She was wrong.

"Unfortunately something is blocking the nice weather," someone said from above, and as one everyone looked up. There, standing on one of the houses' roofs was Meta Knight, staring directly at Dedede.

He seemed almost bored, contrary to Dedede, who was simply enraged by Meta Knight's presence.

"Surprise," Meta Knight commented dryly when no one else found anything to say. Dedede seemed about to explode, and Fumu was almost impressed when he didn't order Kracko to attack immediately.

"How can ya be here? I saw you get hit!" Dedede bellowed in anger, and the roll of thunder above him got louder.

Fumu saw Meta Knight look up briefly, then he looked back at the king. "Being hit is not the same as being killed," he replied with a sudden coldness that frightened Fumu.

Before Dedede had the time to reply anything, Meta Knight had jumped off the house and to the ground, walking calmly towards him.

"Kill him!"

And immediately Meta Knight jumped into action.

* * *

The first lightning bolt was easily avoided, but of course he had anticipated exactly this to happen. Every Cappy flinched as it hit the ground with a loud crash; some even covered their heads with their arms in a pointless attempt to protect themselves from harm.

Meta Knight ignored their poor attempts, too busy with trying not to run into anyone while he left the village behind. Trying to fight Kracko inside the village would be like asking for collateral damage.

Of course the risk of dead spectators still existed; Meta Knight couldn't be bothered to care for that now, though. If everything went as planned only Kracko wouldn't survive to see tomorrow.

Grinning almost madly, exited for what was about to happen, Meta Knight transformed his cape into a pair of wings, undeniable proof of his heritage. A Star Warrior... Not quite. Now that would be fun when everyone found out that he was a _demon beast_.

That would be right about _now_.

But for the moment other matters took priority. Kracko's reaction to Meta Knight's ability of flight was not discernable. Another lightning bolt was all he got, but he easily avoided it, after all he was much less restricted in his movements now.

And now he would be able to fight back.

From the ground he had had no hope of ever reaching Kracko with his attacks, much less as long as it was still concealed by the clouds. But at a closer range...

Of course he first had to get rid of the clouds, simple enough now; Galaxia was by no means a normal weapon, and using electricity was not the only thing it was able to do. Especially the tornadoes were quite entertaining if he used them correctly.

Blowing the clouds away was almost too easy.

The clouds were dispersed and Kracko's true form revealed; the demon beast itself looked much like the clouds it had hidden itself in. A big white cloud with twelve spikes, electricity coursing through them, and an angry looking eye that followed his every move; that was Kracko.

Meta Knight only smirked as Kracko's next shot missed him clearly, the demon beast's look darkening even more. Three more thunderbolts missed before Meta Knight decided to attack for the first time.

His Sword Beam crashed into Kracko's next attack before it had even had the time to fully charge it. Both attacks exploded right in its face, and had Meta Knight had any doubt that his opponent was angry, now he could almost physically feel it.

Lightning flashed all around the demon beast, and much sooner than expected Meta Knight found himself targeted by an attack much bigger than the ones from before. He barely managed to get out of the way as what looked like a sword of lightning came at him, much faster than any attack before.

Ready to counterattack, Meta Knight almost didn't notice that while the attack looked like a sword it acted more like a boomerang. It came back from behind, and to escape it Meta Knight stopped flapping his wings for a moment. The attacked passed over him without doing any harm, but promptly turned around and came at him again.

Cursing under his breath Meta Knight flew away, trying his best to get rid of Kracko's attack following him around. Taking sharp turns and loops didn't help, and only when he stopped and made the attack miss him did Meta Knight have enough time to charge a Sword Beam and destroy it.

Repressing a sigh of annoyance Meta Knight turned back in Kracko's direction, and much to his displeasure noticed that the demon had not just watched idly as he had been chased. The roll of thunder was unmistakable, and countless thunderbolts flashed all around the demon beast's twelve spikes.

He only had about a second to take this fact in, then Kracko attacked with what Meta Knight supposed was its strongest attack. Trying to block the lightning with Galaxia proved not completely futile, but not all that far from it.

Kracko's thunderbolt proved too much for Meta Knight's defense, and the subsequent crash to the ground after being hit left him disoriented and severely confused for a moment. Not to mention in agonizing pain.

Gasping for air as his whole body still trembled from the electricity he had been hit with, Meta Knight couldn't help but wonder if fighting Kracko had been all that good of an idea.

The wings had turned back into his cape, and Meta Knight felt it would take much effort to transform them again. Maybe it would be best to leave Kracko alone?

But the thunder above him was answer enough. The demon beast hadn't attacked, was mocking him although Meta Knight had practically invited it to attack again with his lack of movement.

He gritted his teeth in anger.

That asinine behavior would cost the demon dearly.

Meta Knight slowly got up from the ground, electricity crackling around Galaxia, as if reflecting his bad mood. Anger drove him now, and even though he had thought it would take much effort, his cape instantly transformed back into his wings, ready for use immediately.

He soared into the sky, avoided one badly aimed thunderbolt, and retaliated at the same time. His Sword Beam was slightly off-center, yet was still more than enough to injure Kracko.

The demon beast stopped all movement for a moment, and before it had the time to react again, Meta Knight unleashed another two Sword Beams.

A noise of pain was his reward, and although Kracko attempted another thunderbolt, it only served to injure the demon beast. Its attack collided with one of Meta Knight's, directly in front of it, and for just another moment Kracko was paralyzed.

Meta Knight accepted the invitation to attack gladly.

Looping down at the demon beast from his position above, Meta Knight cut right through it, sure of the fatality of the injury he had inflicted.

Turning around in midair, watching the happenings almost boredly, Meta Knight was not prepared for the sudden explosion. In hindsight he should have known this was going to happen, and Meta Knight cursed himself for his carelessness.

Kracko exploded after being defeated and the blast sent Meta Knight crashing down to the ground, the grass he landed on not nearly enough to cushion his impact. This time he wouldn't be getting up again, the anger that had driven him before subsided now.

Groaning he shifted his position, realizing the futility of trying to get back up right now. Staying on the ground for a moment it was then.

The moment stretched on for a few minutes until Meta Knight finally felt able to at least get back up. He grimaced as he realized that he was trembling, from pain, exhaustion or the consequences of being electrocuted he wasn't sure.

What was probably worse was the fact that what seemed like every person in Dreamland came running over. He was quite some distance away from the village, and it was certainly no surprise that people came find out what had happened to him.

"Meta Knight!" Fumu was the first to shout, and Meta Knight grimaced again.

They arrived and just looked at him, unsure what to say, taking in his somewhat haggard appearance.

"Why did you lie?" Fumu suddenly demanded, expression not quite angry but wary.

"I did not," Meta Knight began, exhausted. "I never denied Dedede's accusation, nor did I agree to it."

"So you really are..."

Meta Knight just nodded, not caring for any consequences.


	4. Unreality TV

**********A/N: **Has been rewritten.

* * *

**4. Unreality TV **

Meta Knight had expected all sorts of reactions, anger and fear being the most prominent ones. However, there was nothing of the sort. The reaction he got was mostly curiosity, and if possible almost everyone found him even greater and more fascinating than before.

Almost everyone with the exceptions of Fumu, Dedede and Escargon.

Dedede's reaction was hardly surprising, Escargon had been unsure before, and Fumu... Meta Knight couldn't say that he was surprised with her reaction either. She was not outright hostile, merely wary. Really wary at that, but Meta Knight got the feeling she was the only one who had really understood what had happened.

The others had certainly understood that he was a demon beast, only after Fumu had told them, though.

Fumu's reaction to everyone else's reaction of almost indifference at first had been interesting to say the least. Meta Knight knew there was something she would have liked to say, but she had ultimately decided against it. He could only guess the reasons, but he was quite certain she had used the time to think of something to say.

And she had taken her time.

Two weeks where he had barely even seen her; two weeks where other people had taken the opportunity to talk (annoy) to him. Not that he missed her company; it was more entertaining to talk to her than to the simple-minded villagers, though.

Meta Knight soon came to regret that admission, for Fumu had obviously decided two weeks were enough time to think of what to say.

Everyone else had ignored the somewhat shocking truth about Meta Knight; Fumu had taken the time to think of a way to get him to admit even more. It said much about the villagers' overall intelligence; it said even more about Fumu's.

"Meta Knight."

He didn't even turn around, but wondered briefly how she had been able to find him. Avoiding everyone else had been simple; no one came to the ocean, the cliff from where Meta Knight was overlooking the sea. Fumu was the first to have found him.

"What is it, Fumu?" he asked, his cape slightly billowing in the breeze. He was well aware of what she wanted, but it would certainly be more entertaining to have her tell him.

She hesitated for a moment. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Meta Knight looked at the ocean for another moment, then he finally turned in her direction. "Tell you what?" he asked, coldly. "That I am what everyone fears since they know the term demon beast? Do you think I am a fool?"

"No, but you lied to us! You introduced yourself as-"

"A warrior," Meta Knight interrupted Fumu. "I introduced myself as a warrior and that is not a lie. The suggestion that I was a demon beast never received an answer."

Fumu bit her lip. "But still... The fact remains that you _are_ a demon beast."

He would have laughed, had that not conveyed a completely wrong image. She had thought about it, but obviously she had not found anything to accuse him of other than being a demon beast. Of course she hadn't; the only thing he had done was hurt Dedede, but Fumu was not one to hide her dislike for the king.

"Does it bother you?" Meta Knight asked after a short moment of silence. "That I am not the hero you want me to be? That, from an ignorant point of view, I am more qualified to be the villain?"

Meta Knight looked closely at Fumu's reaction, and was almost disappointed when there was none. Her face had taken a thoughtful, almost grim expression, but that was all. He waited for another few seconds, and when there still was no response ultimately decided to turn around and walk away.

Fumu didn't even seem to notice, lost in thought. That state didn't last for long, however.

"It doesn't!" she shouted after him, and Meta Knight had to admit he was a little surprised. He continued his pace, and Fumu quickly followed when she realized he wasn't going to stop.

"You are... not a ruthless person. I don't think you would make a good villain. For that you consider other people's safety too much."

This time Meta Knight did laugh.

Fumu seemed distinctly disturbed at the sound, and Meta Knight wouldn't blame her. For that it sounded too much like a madman's laughing. Admittedly, Meta Knight might have overdone it with a little with his laughing, yet couldn't bring himself to care.

"You really think so? That is certainly an opinion I was not confronted with before," Meta Knight remarked dryly after he had stopped laughing, and was surprised when Fumu reacted not as expected.

"Because you are a demon beast? You said yourself that it is from an ignorant point of view that you are considered the villain," Fumu reasoned, and Meta Knight found himself impressed. This was certainly more interesting than he would have thought.

"I said that, yes," he allowed and smiled slightly, fully aware that Fumu wouldn't be able to see it. "However, it doesn't mean that I am not a ruthless person. I refuse to get labeled as hero or villain, but it doesn't change who I am."

Meta Knight saw Fumu frown in thought until it dawned on her what exactly he meant. She seemed surprised, but ultimately didn't seem to believe him. This was certainly going to haunt her in the future, at least if everything took one of the worst possible turns.

"So..." she began again, unsure of what exactly to say."What exactly are you going to do?"

"Do what demon beasts do: destroy the universe," Meta Knight replied wryly, and for just a second Fumu looked positively aghast.

Meta Knight smirked as Fumu stopped abruptly. "Wha- Meta Knight!"

He chuckled slightly, greatly amused by the turn this conversation had taken. Fumu wasn't quite as amused, was slightly angry even. It only served to amuse Meta Knight even more.

"Yes, Fumu?"

"Don't joke about that!"

"What makes you think that I am joking?" Meta Knight asked, serious now. Fumu instantly noticed his change in mood, and also became much more serious.

"You don't have the means of destroying the universe," she observed calmly, and Meta Knight agreed.

"No, I do not. That doesn't mean I can not try, though," he stated in a disinterested tone while he was pretending to look at something specific. Something specific other than Fumu or the village. The grass had to do.

He had expected anger, or at the very least a reaction of surprise. He got neither.

Instead Fumu sighed in what Meta Knight supposed was exasperation. "You're doing this on purpose!"

"Of course I am," Meta Knight easily agreed, still not looking at Fumu. Certainly, this conversation had been much more interesting than initially expected.

"Why? What do you gain by... making me angry?"

And she did sound angry now.

They had steadily been moving closer to the village, had almost reached it by now, and Meta Knight instantly noticed something unusual. Fumu doubtlessly expected an answer to her question, but Meta Knight found himself more intrigued by what was happening. Not that he would have answered her question; now there just was a reason not to.

"Give everyone one of these boxes!" a Waddle Doo ordered, and several Waddle Dees promptly did as told.

Meta Knight watched with Fumu from afar as all the Cappies got their own box, but didn't seem to have a clue what all of this was about. Fumu's question was forgotten for the moment.

"What are those?" someone from the crowd asked after they had all gathered around the Waddle Doo.

"They are called TV. The broadcast begins precisely at noon," was the answer they received, and while Meta Knight was almost certain that most people still had no idea what was going on, all of them seemed excited.

"Awesome! I have to see this!"

"Let's go!"

All Cappies left immediately, leaving a perplexed Fumu and Meta Knight behind. Bun had also stayed behind, not because he wasn't interested, though.

"Do you think we got one, Sis?" he asked excitedly, hardly able to keep from fidgeting.

"Well, I guess so..." Fumu answered carefully, and as soon as the words had left her mouth Bun was gone.

Meta Knight and Fumu were now left alone in the deserted streets, a surprising turn of events if he thought back to all other occasions he had been inside the village. The Cappies had always been busy, and to meet no one on the streets was almost scary.

"Dedede really got all of them excited this time..." Fumu mumbled, but not quiet enough for Meta Knight not to hear it. He doubted that she expected a response; she got one anyway.

"It was to be expected."

Clearly startled Fumu turned in Meta Knight's direction, making him wonder if she had forgotten about his presence for a moment. It seemed unlikely, but Dedede's newest scheme had obviously demanded more attention than him.

"Why do you say that? They don't even know what a TV is," Fumu pointed out, irritated now for some reason.

"That is exactly why," Meta Knight said, amused at Fumu's apparent confusion. "It is interesting because they have no idea what it does."

"Oh..." Fumu looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded her head once. "Yes, of course. They don't worry although it was Dedede who gave them those TVs."

Meta Knight nodded before his attention was directed at the closest house. Cheering could be heard; the broadcast had started then.

He went closer, Fumu right behind him. Much to his chagrin Meta Knight had to jump onto the windowsill before he was able to see what was happening, and the fact that Fumu had to do the same was only a small comfort.

"Channel DDD!" Escargon's voice suddenly announced the name, and more cheering could be heard throughout the whole village.

These people really were easily entertained.

"Welcome commoners to channel DDD!" Dedede said with a huge fake smile as he appeared on screen. "From this day onward channel DDD will broadcast every day. And thanks to television you get senseless but wholesome entertainment. Fake, but prompt information. Useless, but fun commercials! All of this can be enjoyed by anyone free of charge!"

Seriously, this was ridiculous.

Had anyone actually listened to what Dedede had just said? Obviously not, for only Fumu reacted with indignation. Meta Knight himself wasn't all that sure how to react.

While the villagers' reaction was ridiculous, he found himself almost intrigued. Dedede had practically told them what he was going to do, and yet none of them had noticed. Now if Dedede's program wasn't all bad he might even consider ignoring all of this for the moment and just watch what Dedede had planned.

"Now for some minutes of comedy program and the weather forecast after that," Escargon continued, not nearly as enthusiastic as Dedede.

It was hardly surprising, he had been like this the last time Meta Knight had met him as well. Escargon had ordered some Waddle Dee to give Meta Knight his ship back, and instead of talking much had looked into the distance with a far-away look on his face.

Meta Knight's thoughts were interrupted by laughing and a clearly displeased Fumu.

"That's awful! To make fun of you like that!" she exclaimed, but the Cappies inside the house didn't even notice.

How amusing. Fumu was actually angry at Dedede for making fun of him, and that although they had been arguing not all that long ago. She was clearly already fed up with the TVs.

"Aren't you angry?" she asked him, barely able to contain her annoyance.

"No, I am not," Meta Knight assured her with a bored voice, not about to retaliate for whatever Dedede had done. He hadn't paid enough attention to care.

"Now here's the weather forecast and commercials after that."

Meta Knight had thought that what Dedede had said was ridiculous, but it didn't compare to what Escargon said next. He hid it well; Meta Knight caught the frown though.

"There will be strong winds from the north that will blow away all clouds. But there still is the possibility of snow tomorrow."

Snow. Meta Knight was almost sure this country had never even seen snow, and if he interpreted Fumu's confused expression correctly she had no idea what it was either.

If Fumu didn't know the possibility of anyone else in the village knowing about it was slim. Still no one seemed confused, just awed that someone had supposedly told them tomorrow's weather.

"Amazing!"

That just confirmed it.

"Now to introduce this evening's primetime lineup..." But Meta Knight didn't even listen any longer. He sighed in frustration, noticing not for the first time that this planet lacked intelligent people.

"... those are our many programs. Now for the commercials."

Maybe watching TV wouldn't be so bad if he just saw Dedede's stupidity. Now that he saw everyone else's stupidity as well it was bad.

Fumu's annoyed expression wasn't enough to compensate, and Meta Knight didn't regret for one moment that he didn't stick around to watch more of channel DDD.

"Just about everything is clean and beautiful with Dedede Soap!"

* * *

Arriving at his own home hours later after deciding not to return immediately, Meta Knight had a surprise coming for him. Not only did he now have a TV himself, it was already in use even.

Tokkori had decided he was bored and was now sitting in front of the TV, watching channel DDD - and laughing loudly.

Meta Knight was slightly annoyed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, not even bothering to hide his annoyance. Unfortunately Tokkori either didn't notice or chose to ignore it.

"Watching TV of course," Tokkori replied without even looking at Meta Knight.

That had been obvious and also explained exactly what he was doing, but wasn't the answer Meta Knight had wanted to hear.

"I can see that. But why are you doing it in _my_ house?"

"You weren't here and some Waddle Dee delivered the TV some time ago. I couldn't let them carry that thing for nothing now, could I?"

Meta Knight was still not happy with that answer, but saw the futility of trying any longer. Tokkori didn't listen to him anyway, and would probably only do if Meta Knight used force. For now that was not an option.

At least he didn't have to endure channel DDD for long because there was an "urgent" message.

"We just learned of some shockin' news!" Dedede exclaimed as his image appeared on screen, but he didn't seem all that shocked. "An enormous demon beast appeared from the mountains! This is it!"

Dedede's image was replaced with the silhouette of a demon beast, and Meta Knight wondered where he was going with this. Dedede was the one to send the demon beasts in the first place, so it wouldn't make sense to reveal them before they were able to attack Meta Knight.

"Hm, what's that? Is this demon beast sayin' somethin'?"

Indeed it did say something, and Meta Knight couldn't stop himself from chuckling in amusement. Now it was clear what Dedede was trying to do.

"Meta Knight... Meta Knight."

That was actually quite smart of Dedede, and Meta Knight wondered if he had come up with that plan himself. Probably not, but that was not important.

He took a closer look at the demon beast on the screen, yet couldn't remember ever seeing it before in his life. Was this a new one? Or was it-

"Ah! It's out to get you!" Tokkori shouted and interrupted Meta Knight's thoughts. Of course, Tokkori wouldn't be the only one to react like that.

"Don't worry," he replied just as the demon beast was destroying the Mayor's house on screen. "There is nothing to be afraid of."

Tokkori looked incredulously at him and Meta Knight already knew what his answer was going to be. He wasn't disappointed.

"Of course we have to be afraid! This big demon beast is on TV!" Yes, he had expected this. He could only imagine similar reactions of near panic all throughout the village.

Before Tokkori had the time to protest Meta Knight grabbed him and took him outside. He pointed in direction of the village, exactly where he knew the Mayor's house to be at. There was no demon beast to be seen.

"But... but where did the demon beast go?" Tokkori asked, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"There is nothing to be afraid of," Meta Knight repeated, this time in a bored tone. "There is no demon beast."

Tokkori seemed to have some trouble accepting that fact, not that Meta Knight really cared. Now the problem remained that everyone else had also been watching TV.

"Meta Knight!" someone shouted from a distance, and he saw Fumu running in their direction.

That had been surprisingly quick, and he suspected Fumu had not been in the castle.

"I take it you saw the "shocking news" then?" Meta Knight asked when she arrived, releasing Tokkori again at the same time. He almost fell to the ground, the sudden freedom too unexpected for him, but managed to stay in the air.

Fumu nodded after taking a few deep breaths.

"Yes. But I didn't see a demon beast on the way here."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't see one. What do you think that means?"

Meta Knight was genuinely interested if Fumu had figured it out already. There were not many possibilities, and only one really made sense.

"It's a fake broadcast," she replied immediately, Meta Knight nodding in agreement. "Can we stop it somehow?"

For that they first had to find out where exactly Dedede broadcasted from. That wouldn't be too hard.

He nodded, but was interrupted before he even had the time to speak.

"Out with Meta Knight!"

Now that was certainly unexpected. Positively ridiculous and more than a little stupid, but still unexpected.

Meta Knight sighed almost imperceptibly. "Tell them you don't know where I am," he told Fumu, who nodded in response. "Good, I will meet you somewhere on the way."

He had not specifically told her where he was going, but he was sure that Fumu had enough common sense to figure out that he meant the castle. It was obviously where Dedede was recording his broadcast, and he also doubted that any of the villagers were going to follow.

While they had been quite vocal with their opinion right now they had not been quick. Meta Knight was long gone before they had arrived at his house.

For once Dedede's plan had not been all that stupid, he noted with some amusement.

* * *

Meta Knight was not quite sure why he had decided to hide. Because he was afraid of the Cappies finding him if he didn't do it? Certainly not.

He was quite sure that getting rid of them wouldn't be all that hard, Fumu had just proven it.

She was walking at a leisurely pace in direction of the castle, trying hard to pretend that there was nothing she had to hide. That needed some work, although Meta Knight doubted anyone else would ever notice that she was walking a little _too_ slowly.

Fumu didn't even notice him as she walked by his hiding place; either she was too focused on her way or Meta Knight was just better at hiding when he didn't even try than he had thought. Seriously, the tree he was standing on was not exactly the perfect place.

He jumped down, soundlessly landing on the ground.

"Fumu," he called, much too his amusement making her jump in surprise. Fumu was not quite as amused.

"Please don't ever do that again!" She glared at him, but continued much calmer although he didn't reply. "The others are searching for you. They acted strange... Anyway, they are not a problem."

"Good," Meta Knight replied, keeping to that one word although he could have said countless other things.

The castle loomed on the hill directly before them, bathed in the day's last sunlight. The broadcast had started hours ago already, and Meta Knight was quite sure Dedede had chosen his castle to record it.

"How are you going to get inside?"

That was an unexpected question at first, but Meta Knight supposed it was valid. Dedede had certainly made sure to order everyone to keep him out, and Fumu was obviously not aware that the castle's security was severely lacking and would be no hindrance.

"I have my ways," he replied cryptically, enjoying the frown on Fumu's face. How predictable.

"Fine, don't tell me then. Anyway, we should stop by my home. I'm sure Bun is eager to help us ruin Dedede's day." Meta Knight nodded.

Entering the castle was exactly as easy as Meta Knight had expected it to be. The Waddle Dees were no problem and there was no other security. Fumu seemed almost disappointed when no alarm had been raised, and Meta Knight was not quite sure whose side she was on here.

Not Dedede's obviously, but he got the feeling it was not his either.

Fumu's mood was bad, and wisely Meta Knight decided not to make it worse. He didn't have to; what the drab hallways had not managed the rest of her family accomplished in mere fractions of seconds. Hardly surprising.

"Fire!" the Dedede on the TV's screen shouted while he shot at the demon beast, trying to drive it back. What an impressive display of heroism; fighting imaginary demon beasts had to be the only good Dedede had ever even pretended to do.

"You are _still_ watching?" Fumu complained, crossing her arms. "Don't you realize what Dedede is doing?"

Enamored as they were they hardly even noticed Fumu at first, and Meta Knight took the time to look around. Nothing special, the whole family sitting in front of the TV was really the only detail worth of note.

"It's Meta Knight... He's gotta go away!" Bun pointed accusingly at him.

"Charming," Meta Knight commented dryly, ignoring Fumu's annoyed expression. "If you are done believing everything you are told we can go."

"Huh?"

"We're going to investigate, Bun."

Their investigation didn't take quite as long as one would have expected. Fumu marched in front, a severe frown on her face, and if Meta Knight didn't know better he would say she knew exactly where she had to go.

Of course the increasing number of Waddle Dee the closer they got to the basement was a dead giveaway, but she had not even hesitated for one second to go exactly there.

Meta Knight was of course not complaining, although Fumu's help would have been very much appreciated as everyone noticed who exactly it was that approached their king's location. Instead Fumu chose to glare at the Waddle Dees and left Meta Knight to fend for himself.

Fortunately he didn't have to hurt any of the guards and got past them just fine after initial hostility, making him wonder why they had not tried harder.

However the biggest obstacle appeared right before they reached Dedede, in form of the Waddle Doo who had directed the Waddle Dees earlier in the village. He seemed bored, but hadn't noticed them as they came down the stairs yet.

All three of them stopped after a few steps, going back so he would be unable to spot them.

"Who exactly is he?" Meta Knight asked, curious if there was something important he needed to know.

"He's Waddle Doo, the captain of the guard," Bun replied immediately, obviously pleased to answer before Fumu had done so.

Her frown had somewhat lessened, but had still not disappeared. She was not pleased with Waddle Doo's presence.

"Yes," she agreed. "And he will not let us pass, much less if Meta Knight is with us. He takes his responsibilities rather serious sometimes..."

"Only sometimes?" Fumu nodded absent-mindedly and Meta Knight continued. "Does the possibility exist to make him doubt Dedede's intentions?"

Even if it didn't Meta Knight was going to try anyway. Manipulating other people had always been one of his strengths when the situation allowed it.

Unfortunately manipulation had not been important in the past, and a dead opponent had been a better one than a manipulated one. Now the situation was different and death was not even an option.

"I'm not sure..." Fumu hesitated. "What if that fails?"

Meta Knight didn't reply and went down the stairs before Fumu was even able to think about stopping him.

His welcome at the bottom was a little frosty, if only for the fact that Dedede had left orders to keep him out of the castle. Without these explicit orders Meta Knight was sure Waddle Doo would have reacted much friendlier.

"You have no permission to enter the castle," Waddle Doo stated in a tone that brooked no argument, but left Meta Knight unimpressed.

"Uh... you see-" Bun began clumsily, immediately interrupted by Meta Knight.

"Yes, that is correct. However, I would like to speak to the king."

Waddle Doo seemed confused for a moment, hesitating before he found a response to Meta Knight's demand. The type to follow orders but didn't know what to do when the opponent didn't play along then.

"Oh... He's busy and told me not to let anyone enter."

"So he is behind this door then?"

"Yes, recording for channel DDD right now."

Meta Knight smirked. They had known this before, but now that he had this information from Waddle Doo himself the manipulation was about to commence.

"He is?" Meta Knight asked in fake surprise, Fumu's and Bun's surprise at his words almost giving him away. He continued before one of them had the time to comment. "That is odd."

"Why's that?"

"Well..." Meta Knight drawled, trying to indicate Fumu and Bun to stop giving him away with their expressions with an inconspicuous gesture. They misunderstood his gesture and Meta Knight had to interrupt Bun before he said something stupid.

"Wha-"

"Channel DDD is broadcasting the fight between Dedede and a demon beast somewhere outside right now. A live broadcast no less."

"But that is... His Majesty is down here..."

"Exactly," Meta Knight agreed, hoping to force Waddle Doo to reach the logical and correct conclusion.

There was a pause when neither of them spoke, and Meta Knight was almost sure Waddle Doo had figured it out. That of course didn't mean he couldn't deny it when Fumu became impatient and told him.

"Dedede's demon beast is a fake and he is causing unnecessary panic among the villagers."

If it could be called panic. Calling it brainwashing was probably more accurate, not that this detail mattered all that much.

"His Majesty would never do that!"

Denial, and Meta Knight was not even sure if that was on principle or because Waddle Doo actually thought that. That was to find out now, and Meta Knight would already know if Fumu had not said anything.

But it was not everything lost yet. There was another, simple way to resolve the situation.

"I suggest we verify it then. Dedede is close and it is no problem to see what he is actually doing."

Waddle Doo hesitated again, unsure what to do. Meta Knight didn't blame him, but acted immediately when he reluctantly agreed. Let Waddle Doo think about it again and the possibility existed he was going to change his mind.

"Alright..."

Meta Knight used the opportunity to approach the heavy metal door with Fumu and Bun close behind, leaving Waddle Doo to follow hesitantly. They opened the door a split, all of them looking inside.

For Meta Knight the sight that greeted them was not surprising. No, in fact he had expected exactly this, and Fumu's and Bun's reaction of surprise was more surprising. They _knew_ what Dedede was doing after all.

What they saw was a studio, nothing unusual when someone broadcasted something, but the miniature village and demon beast proved what Meta Knight had known for some time now.

"So we were correct," Fumu whispered and Meta Knight nodded.

"How are we gonna stop him?"

Now that was the question. Dedede didn't have an actual demon beast this time and stopping his broadcast wouldn't be hard. However, Meta Knight wasn't keen on bursting into the room and stopping the happenings forcefully.

Fumu and Waddle Doo seemed to be of the same opinion. Unfortunately Bun had quite another opinion and took matters in his own hands when his question didn't receive an answer even after a few seconds.

"Hey Dedede!"

Meta Knight grimaced and Fumu's face held the same expression as Bun stormed into the room. Now of course they had little other choice than to follow Bun.

"W-what?" Dedede sputtered in surprise, turning in Bun's direction while the broadcast continued.

The fake demon beast was forgotten as Bun appeared on screen, pointing accusingly at the king. "Stop it!"

"What are you even doin' here?" Then Dedede saw the other three. "Ah! Meta Knight! Seize him!" he ordered the innumerable Waddle Dees around the studio, certainly forgetting that the broadcast still continued.

"Stop this hoax already, Dedede!" Fumu shouted, coming to a stop right beside Bun.

"Stop the camera!" he finally commanded angrily, his face adopting a malicious grin soon after. "Got ya now!"

Admittedly the cage was a little unexpected. Only Fumu and Bun were caught, though, and they seemed more annoyed than scared.

"But you do realize that Meta Knight is still free?" Fumu asked mockingly; certainly not the reaction Dedede had expected.

"So what! I'll get rid of him now! I'll deal with you two later!"

"And you'll do what exactly?" Fumu raised a brow at him, having seen Meta Knight's actions of the last few seconds. Depending on Dedede's answer the reactions were going to vary between simple displeasure and outrage. Dedede didn't disappoint.

"Kill every-"

"Your Majesty!"

Meta Knight smirked. Waddle Doo had interrupted at a most unfortunate time, but the beginning of the sentence had been enough. Dedede had gone too far with that statement and everyone had seen it on live-broadcast.

Dedede realized his error when he saw that Meta Knight had taken up the camera, pointing it directly at the king.

"Do you have anything else to say?" he asked. "What about the fake demon beast you deceived everyone with? If you don't feel like telling us I am sure Escargon will be happy to tell us of his grand role as the demon beast."

Escargon didn't seem happy and frowned darkly at Meta Knight. Of course he wouldn't be happy.

"Fine then, that demon beast was a fake!" Dedede admitted, glaring daggers at Meta Knight. "Anythin' else? No? Good, I'm outta here!"

He stomped to the door and left the room, slamming the door shut angrily.

Well, that was probably the best way to get away from the situation Dedede himself had created. It left Escargon and Waddle Doo with morose expressions, not to mention Fumu and Bun, who had been left in their cage. The Waddle Dees seemed a little unsure what had happened.

"Can someone _please_ let us out?" Fumu looked pointedly at Meta Knight, frowning when he didn't move immediately. First he turned off the camera and let it carelessly fall to the ground. Then he wondered if using a Sword Beam would be all that good of an idea.

"Certainly," he replied, deciding to just smash the lock.

* * *

Life went back to normal soon after. Dedede's little trick was without permanent consequences and after experiencing a blank screen for quite some time to follow the Cappies' opinion of Dedede's TVs went down.

They still watched channel DDD, though with less enthusiasm than before.

To Meta Knight's misfortune Tokkori was as enthusiastic as ever, finding the commercials still funny even after seeing them for the umpteenth time. Then again Meta Knight didn't mind channel DDD as much as especially Fumu had expected.

He didn't mind Tokkori either, finding him annoying at the best of times, but appreciating the fact that he was quite selfish and thus different from most other people in Dreamland.

It was certainly one reason why Meta Knight had decided not to throw him out yet.

It was also quite refreshing to have someone act as uncaringly as Tokkori in his presence; demon beasts had certainly never done that, knowing full well their death would have been a painful one.

Sometimes strange things happened.


	5. Chaos

**5. Chaos**

He knew he couldn't escape her forever, but he would have liked if he had managed to do it some time longer. Only three days had passed since Dedede had tried to get rid of Meta Knight through use of television and the conversation Meta Knight had known would happen would happen right know.

Fumu had cornered him, no possibility to escape her left, and Meta Knight had to resign himself to his fate. Well he could still jump off the cliff he was standing on, but that would be really cowardly because he knew she would never be able to follow him. That left talking to her and hoping he could somehow outsmart her.

"Meta Knight!" At least no one else would hear anything because they were pretty far away from the village. Which left the question how she even knew where he was because he had made sure none of the villagers knew. Sometimes she really was scary.

"Yes, Fumu?" Not exactly the smartest response, at least not with the bored tone Meta Knight spoke, but it was too late now anyway. And it didn't really make a difference in what tone he spoke because she was angry either way. The hissing sound he got was proof of that.

"I think you know what I want to talk about with you." And Meta Knight contemplated saying 'no' just to anger her more and make her shout at him. But he decided against it, he didn't want her to hate him after all. He had the feeling of Déjà vu right now.

"Yes I can imagine."

"And what do you have to say?" 'Nothing' would definitely be the wrong kind of answer. He did it anyway.

"Nothing." And watched how Fumu tried to stay calm and not shout at him. She had to try really hard not to shout, too.

"Ok." A deep breath. "Then let's do this some other way. We never finished our last conversation. What exactly did you mean when you said 'maybe' when I asked you if you will harm someone?" She really was persistent...

"I meant I can't promise you not to harm someone in the future. Dedede for example tries his hardest to make me attack him." Maybe it was because he used Dedede as example, but Fumu seemed to be satisfied with this answer.

"Good. Now how did you get into the castle before me?" She didn't ask for an answer, she demanded it. But Meta Knight wouldn't play along.

"I already told you." Fumu only raised an eyebrow in response. "Talent." Meta Knight only chuckled at the face Fumu now made. "You don't honestly expect me to tell you my secrets, do you?" Obviously she had, but it didn't matter because he surely wouldn't.

"No, but it was worth a try." Surprisingly Fumu now stopped scowling at him, not at all angry anymore it seemed. "It is enough for me knowing you won't attack the villagers." He had never said that, but well let her think that. "Though I'm still angry because you suddenly showed up and scared me in the darkness."

Meta Knight wasn't exactly sure how to react to the situation. Fumu had been angry, that much was clear, but suddenly her mood had changed and she wasn't angry anymore. At least it appeared that way.

"I will try not to do that again. Though I won't make any promises." Meta Knight just played along, at least partly and simply hoped Fumu wouldn't become angry again. The nice Fumu was far easier to talk to and he could still make her angry if he wanted to. He didn't even have to try, something would surely come up sooner or later to make her angry.

"Well I got the feeling you enjoyed it far too much to annoy me." There really was a reason he liked talking to Fumu. She at least noticed his amusement, he doubted any of the villagers would have noticed.

While they were talking they had begun walking. Neither of them had a particular goal in mind, but soon they found themselves walking in direction of the castle.

"Really? I haven't noticed." And the villagers surely wouldn't have gotten the meaning of that sentence either. But maybe he was only mean today, not all villagers could be totally stupid.

Fumu gave a short glance in Meta Knight's direction, "of course not," before staring at the castle in the distance again. Meta Knight smirked behind his mask at that response.

They walked in silence for some time, coming ever closer to the castle and even though Meta Knight never actually planed on entering he thought better of it. When they were close enough they could hear shouting and what sounded like fighting, convincing Meta Knight it might be a good idea to enter the castle.

Wordlessly Meta Knight and Fumu began running to the castle at the same time, Fumu behind Meta Knight. What they saw inside was complete chaos. The shouting was Waddle Doo, ordering the countless Waddle Dees what to do. The fighting was the Waddle Dees against just as many small demon beasts.

Perplexed Meta Knight and Fumu stopped for a moment, surprised there were that many demon beasts in the first place and even more surprised the Waddle Dees were fighting against them. Why would Dedede order demon beasts to let the Waddle Dees fight them?

"Why... never mind." Fumu had begun to voice the question, but Meta Knight didn't waste any time. Before Fumu was even halfway through her question he had attacked and killed the closest demon beast and proceeded to do just that to the others.

With Meta Knight's help the Waddle Dees soon overwhelmed the attacking demon beasts and none were left. They eyed Meta Knight suspiciously (he wasn't allowed into the castle after all), but didn't attack him.

"Waddle Doo what is the meaning of this?" Waddle Doo had observed Meta Knight, obviously fascinated with the way he fought and was a bit surprised when there was a question directed at him.

"Huh? Oh... many demon beasts suddenly appeared and attacked us. I don't know why they did it though..." That was exactly the answer Meta Knight had expected him to give because honestly, why would Waddle Doo know what was going on? It was a wonder he even told the Waddle Dees to defend themselves.

"Hm." And Fumu also had no idea. In fact she was looking at him as if waiting for him to make a decision. And because he knew no one else would make one Meta Knight sighed and began walking into the castle, followed closely by Fumu and to his surprise Waddle Doo as well.

"Where are you going?" Ah yes Waddle Doo was concerned where he was going and what he would be doing there. Perfectly reasonable considering he had been attacked by demon beasts moments ago and Meta Knight had more or less saved him. Then again he also was a demon beast and a potential danger.

"Into the castle." That of course was obvious, but Waddle Doo didn't ask again and simply followed. He wouldn't have gotten an answer anyway had he asked something else, he would have to follow and see for himself.

It wasn't long before the first problem appeared. The demon beasts earlier of course had not been the only ones, many others awaited them in the hallways. And those demon beasts were exactly like the ones from before - stupid enough to attack Meta Knight. Needless to say none of them lived to tell the tale.

The closer the three of them got to the throne room the more demon beasts attacked them. It became so many Meta Knight had some trouble getting rid of them before they could reach Fumu behind him and when they could already see the throne room some managed to get past him.

Meta Knight killed the demon beasts before him with a Sword Beam and almost frantically turned around. Only to see Fumu had not been attacked because someone else had killed the demon beasts. Waddle Doo had drawn his sword and the four demon beasts that got past Meta Knight had been defeated by him.

Meta Knight turned around again to defeat the remaining demon beasts, only to be promptly tackled into the wall by one of them. He hit his head and lost his weapon, but the demon beast also let go, enabling him to back off. But attacking would now become a problem with his weapon lying some distance away on the ground and six demon beasts making ready to attack him.

Meta Knight considered simply beating the demon beasts up, but he didn't even have to. Waddle Doo appeared from behind, surprisingly no longer with a sword, and did something even more surprising. He shot an energy beam from his eye, thus defeating all six remaining demon beasts.

Neither Meta Knight nor Fumu had expected that, they hadn't even known Waddle Doo could do something like that (Meta Knight noted Fumu's obvious surprise at the ability). Fumu simply stared at Waddle Doo, while Meta Knight got his sword back and then himself looked at Waddle Doo, who seemed quite uncomfortable because of that.

"That is quite the interesting ability you got there." And his comment made it all the more obvious Waddle Doo was uncomfortable because he only stuttered something that both Meta Knight and Fumu didn't quite get.

"I... ah... well it's..." It was really pathetic listening to Waddle Doo stuttering, but thankfully Fumu stopped him after only a few seconds.

"Thank you Waddle Doo. You saved me." That and her smile completely stopped Waddle Doo, but sadly only for a moment. Then he began stuttering again, only this time something different.

"Ah... I... that's... you're welcome..." Meta Knight had enough and simply walked past Waddle Doo, Fumu somewhere behind him and obviously Waddle Doo had decided to follow as well because he stopped talking.

The doors to the throne room were open when they arrived. Looking inside the three of them could see there was quite some damage done to the room and if Dedede's shouting was any indication he was quite angry because of that. Though Meta Knight didn't really care for the fact Dedede was angry, he was far more interested in the fact whom he was obviously angry at. Customer Service.

"Look at my throne room! It's a complete mess! What even happened?" Sounded like even Dedede wasn't sure what had happened here and suggesting it this time wasn't his fault. Taking into account Customer Service's expression that became much more likely.

"Well there was some sort of... _accident_ and-" Customer Service abruptly cut himself off when he saw Meta Knight stepping into the room and scowled at him. Seemed he was really not amused seeing him.

"Oh don't let my presence stop you. You were just so into your explanation and every time you mention the word 'accident' it is not good on your side. And I would really like to hear what went wrong." In the distance all of them could hear something that sounded like an explosion, indicating there were still demon beasts somewhere.

Customer Service was back to his normal pleasant expression, but Meta Knight suspected it was a great effort for him keeping it. "What a pleasure seeing you here. You know we wondered where you went after the Galaxy Soldier Army's defeat, we even wondered if you might have died. What luck you did not." Meta Knight doubted any of the others noticed the sarcasm because Customer Service was really good at hiding it. But he also thought Fumu and Escargon maybe got the real meaning because they knew Meta Knight was a demon beast.

"Of course. But you said something about an accident and I think the king would like to know what kind of _accident_ destroyed his throne room." Dedede surprisingly had ignored Meta Knight until now and even continued to do so after briefly looking in his direction. Clearly his throne room was more important right now.

"Yes of course. Well you see that _accident_ was caused by one particular-" and here Meta Knight clearly saw Customer Service looking in his direction, "demon beast. I fear he though it was... well _fun_ playing around and he thus caused all the chaos you are experiencing now."

"_Fun_?" Fumu clearly pictured the most evil demon beast possible in her mind, whose only mission was to cause chaos and destruction. But Meta Knight thought of a total different demon beast, Customer Service's look earlier giving him the idea. And he was not disappointed.

"It was _him_." Customer Service spoke now directly to Meta Knight, who didn't know if he should be relieved or afraid right now. "He used the transporter himself and is now somewhere in the castle most likely." Relieved it was then. If _he_ wasn't with Nightmare right now that meant _he_ could not be punished by him. Now _he_ only had to be found before _he_ could cause any more chaos. And in all likelihood there were still more demon beasts around.

"Well that's my cue then." Meta Knight turned around to leave the throne room and leave four confused people behind, but Customer Service stopped him.

"Are you sure you really want to find him? You left a long time ago, are you sure he is still the same?" He stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn back. Then he began walking again.

"Nice try, but yes I'm absolutely sure." Fumu followed behind him and neither of them saw the frown on Customer Service's face.

* * *

Predictably the first thing Fumu did after both of them had left the throne room and were out of earshot was asking him what exactly happened and who _he_ was. Meta Knight even decided to answer her, if not exactly everything.

"Ok I didn't get all of this. That guy was obviously not pleased seeing you, I got this even if he said he was pleased. But who was this and who is _he_?" Exactly the questions Meta Knight had expected her to ask.

"The one Dedede spoke to was Customer Service. He sends demon beasts to customers on Nightmare's orders and he is really good at that. And as you noticed he doesn't really like me, but we never got along, it is only worse now." He purposely didn't say anything else, hoping that maybe Fumu wouldn't ask again. But of course she did.

"Ok so now I know who that guy is, but you didn't tell me who _he_ is." Meta Knight first only sighed in response, Fumu would ask until he answered her or, if he refused, until she had another reason to be angry with him. He would have to deal with her anger then.

"There is no real point telling you. You will meet _him_ when we find him and that will make my explanation much more understandable. If I tell you his name it will only make everything more complicated. So just wait, please." The 'please' came after a short pause and was more in hopes of Fumu not getting angry. Obviously it worked.

"Ok I'll wait." Her expression was anything but pleased, but she was in no mood to argue with Meta Knight and accomplish nothing with it. She knew she wouldn't get a straight answer from him anyway.

They walked in silence through the castle, looking for more demon beasts and finding them almost instantly. Right after a screaming Bun, who was chased by two of them, ran past them.

Meta Knight didn't hesitate, he took them out with a sword beam long before they came too close. The fact his attack smashed into the wall and left some obvious traces didn't concern him, that was Dedede's problem.

"Thanks a lot, you saved me." Bun was panting heavily but otherwise appeared unharmed. He had been faster than the two demon beasts.

"Are you ok?" Fumu was worried even though he appeared unharmed, but better save than sorry. Bun however wasn't impressed.

"Yeah I'm alright. Were do these demon beasts come from, though?" He looked at Fumu, hoping for an answer.

"That Customer Service said there was an accident and a demon beast thought it was fun causing chaos..." It was clear to Meta Knight Bun didn't understand a word and had now even more questions than before. But he didn't bother and went on, either they would follow or they wouldn't.

But until now they hadn't even noticed he was leaving, Fumu still trying to explain to Bun and Bun failing at understanding her explanation. And Meta Knight didn't wait for them to follow. He continued his way and found himself in front of the kitchen. Where he could hear some disturbing noises.

He opened the door and found more demon beasts, this time some that were actually dangerous. Not because they were strong, but rather because they were inside the kitchen and apparently had no idea what they did.

Two seconds after opening the door Meta Knight found himself on the ground in the hallway after narrowly escaping an explosion the demon beasts had caused. That answered where the earlier explosion had come from, but made Meta Knight wonder _what_ exactly could cause this inside the kitchen. Either there were dangerous things inside that were not supposed to be there or mixing some normal things could have possibly mortal consequences. Both possibilities would make him stay away from the kitchen in the future.

Standing again Meta Knight approached the door again, cautiously peeking inside. And what he saw wasn't encouraging because the demon beasts didn't seem to care for what happened and had suffered no injuries. They were still mixing random things and heating them, the next explosion almost ready and prompting Meta Knight to attack them before this could happen.

He had slashed the first one without the others noticing, but he couldn't stop the consequences of their earlier foolish behavior any more. Before Meta Knight could reach any other demon beasts something else had exploded, this time an even bigger explosion than last time and this time hitting all demon beasts in the kitchen and Meta Knight.

But in the end the explosion did more good then harm in Meta Knight's opinion. His mask had suffered the most with scorch marks while he himself had otherwise been really lucky. He had still been close enough to the door to mostly escape the blast, the demon beasts however were not as fortunate. They had eliminated themselves, sparing Meta Knight the trouble and destroying the whole kitchen in the process. And that really wasn't his problem.

"Meta Knight what happened?"

"Are you alright?"

And of course that explosion alerted Fumu and Bun. No one could possibly miss that.

"Yes I am quite alright." He would leave it at that although both Fumu and Bun had already opened their mouths to ask another question. Meta Knight simply ignored them and walked in the direction he had been going to before, also ignoring the mess that was the former kitchen.

Fumu and Bun decided to follow, carefully evading the parts of the kitchen the explosion had scattered around the floor and not bothering to ask questions anymore. They knew they wouldn't get an answer.

And so the three of them went around the castle, Meta Knight killing the occasional demon beast appearing before them, until they were sure there were none left in the castle. But although that normally was a good thing Meta Knight's mood decreased rapidly and Fumu was sure she knew why that was.

"The one you and Customer Service spoke about wasn't in the castle, was he?" Meta Knight stopped and a sigh escaped him.

"No. Which leaves only one possibility, he is somewhere outside, most likely with some other demon beasts. And that means we have a whole new problem." He clarified when he saw Bun's face. "Demon beasts running amok in the village is surely not a good thing."

"Oh."

"Yes, 'oh' would be a correct observation. We should probably hurry, I don't think the villagers will be able to defend themselves." Fumu and Bun nodded and they hurriedly left the castle in direction of the village.

They could already hear there was chaos in the village long before they arrived. When they came close enough they could see why that was. Apparently there were still more demon beasts then earlier assumed and those were busy. With attacking the villagers and damaging their houses. The only good thing was there were only small ones, even one bigger demon beast would have caused much more damage then all of those present combined.

And Meta Knight could spot whom he had been looking for quite some time now, standing amidst the other demon beasts with a happy smile on his face and looking as if he had no care in the world. Typical. But before he would deal with that Meta Knight had to get rid of the other demon beasts.

That wasn't as hard as one might have expected. The demon beasts didn't even know what hit them and before any of them could really defend themselves or attack Meta Knight they had been killed. Killing those in the village had been the easiest task that day by far. Now there was only one problem left.

"Is that... _him_?" Fumu was beside Meta Knight now, looking critically at the only one left. A small pink ball, now happily smiling at Meta Knight. And before Meta Knight could answer said ball had stormed in his direction and launched himself at Meta Knight with a hug.

"Meta!" Meta Knight, distracted with Fumu's question, had not been able to dodge in time and had to bear the hug he was receiving and making Fumu wish she had a camera to take a picture and use it against Meta Knight later on.

"Kirby let go." The smile on Fumu's face was instantly replaced by surprise when she heard that name. And she wasn't the only one, all the villagers in earshot now had the same look on their faces.

"Kirby?"

"The legendary Star Warrior?"

Meta Knight grimaced behind his mask. He had expected that reaction, but there was no helping it. Forcing Kirby off himself Meta Knight turned in direction of the villagers and prepared himself to answer their questions. Oh the joy.

"Well..." And for the first time since arriving on Pop Star he was somewhat at a loss for words. " I wouldn't exactly call him a legendary Star Warrior, but his name is Kirby..." Meta Knight trailed off when Kirby decided to look at all the villagers present and gave them his best smile.

"Kirby!" That and Kirby's smile scattered all doubts about his name at least. But of course there appeared a new problem.

"But the legend said the Star Warrior Kirby would save us!" Whoever said that got widespread agreement with some 'Yeah!' and 'That's true!'

"Yes the legend does say that, but -" And that had been just plain stupid. Of course agreeing to that statement had been the last thing he should have done. Now he would be able to observe what he had done because he knew he had lost every chance to explain anything when he was interrupted.

"So he _is_ the Star Warrior that will save us!" Meta Knight simply sighed and admitted defeat without even trying anymore. There was no way the villagers would hear him out now so why should he even try? Fumu would listen to him, but there was no use telling her now.

"Poyo!" Kirby himself didn't even seem to understand what was going on. He continued smiling at them all, totally oblivious to what exactly was happening. And that although he now was the center of attention.

Meta Knight even wondered _why_ he got that attention. Ok the name and the legend was obvious, but Kirby had been in the midst of attacking the village with other demon beasts only minutes before. Never minding the fact Kirby hadn't actually done anything, but he still was a demon beast. Though Meta Knight was one as well the villagers hadn't known that and there was reason to trust him (though some people would not agree to that), after all he had saved them.

So why did they trust Kirby so readily not to attack them? Maybe it was his winning smile or simply the fact he didn't look as if he would be actually able to attack anyone. But most likely it simply was the name.

"Kirby what are you even doing here?" Meta Knight was amazed Kirby even heard the question because he was bombarded with questions from the villagers, all of them ignored and not receiving answers.

"Oh?" Kirby made a thoughtful expression, seemingly thinking really hard about what to answer. Only to beam at Meta Knight shortly after and only saying one word.

"Fun!" Which was surprisingly what Customer Service had said earlier. The irony of taking demon beasts to some place, watching them damage things and simply standing by because Kirby wouldn't destroy things himself and thinking of that as fun was not lost on Meta Knight.

"He really thought that was fun!" Obviously Fumu had come to a similar conclusion. So much for the demon beast she had pictured that would think of what had happened as fun.

* * *

Somewhere really far away from Pop Star someone was in a really bad mood. That someone was none other than the Emperor of Darkness, Nightmare himself. Customer Service could even understand that, the demon beasts however did not and wondered what exactly caused their master's mood. Needless to say none of them dared asking him.

"So Kirby is gone and with Meta Knight. That could cause problems in the future." Nightmare became silent, contemplating how to deal with the situation and giving Customer Service the opportunity to speak up.

"If I may say so, I don't think they will be a problem at all. There are only two of them and what can they possibly do against yourself?" Nightmare had completely ignored Customer Service before, but now turned to look at him.

"Save your flattery for some other time! You don't realize how wrong you are with that statement! True they will stand no chance against me now, but given enough time they will become really troublesome. You never got along with Meta Knight and therefore don't know what he is really capable of, but you should know what Kirby can do." Nightmare stopped, realizing his words implied he was afraid of Meta Knight and Kirby.

"But of course there are only two of them and they do not stand a chance of even reaching me. Still it would be careless to take any chances with them. Make sure to send demon beasts that will kill them if that sorry excuse of a king orders some."

Customer Service, honestly surprised Nightmare got angry at him, simply nodded in response. But Nightmare had focused his attention elsewhere already.

"Now then to something else entirely. Begin the invasion!" Nightmare smiled darkly at the prospect of invading a new planet.

* * *

So much for "There is no Kirby in Dreamland". Now there is.

And that last part really gave me trouble, I still don't think it's that good, but still far better than the first version... That really was too bad to let anyone read it...

A thanks to all readers and reviewers and a Merry Christmas to all of you.


	6. Kirby

That chapter really gave me trouble and I'm glad to be done with it... Maybe that trouble is because I consequently ignore some of my notes and that already since the beginning? Hope I won't get in more trouble because of that later on ;)

On another note I will now for the first time in this story justify my T rating. So now T for swearing by courtesy of Meta Knight and Dedede, T for blood will follow in later chapters ;)

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**6. Kirby**

Getting Kirby away from the villagers had been exactly as difficult as Meta Knight had thought it would be. Everyone wanted to welcome the legendary Star Warrior, who simply smiled at all of them. Meta Knight was almost to the point of attacking everyone present when Fumu saved the day.

She pointed out it was already late (never minding the fact it was still afternoon) and Kirby surely was tired. There were protests, but Kirby yawned as if on cue and it was settled to properly welcome him the next day. An event that Meta Knight already dreaded although he wouldn't be the one in the spotlight.

So now Meta Knight, Fumu and Bun were sitting at a table in Meta Knight's house and, in Kirby's case, sleeping in the bed in the corner. He had really been tired and had already fallen asleep on the way, prompting Meta Knight to carry him and making Fumu wish she had a camera again. The picture would have been cute and something to blackmail Meta Knight with.

Tokkori had not been happy when all of them arrived, but wisely shut up when Meta Knight pointed out just whose house they were currently in. In fact he hadn't spoken since that again but was listening to what the other people present were saying.

"Ok now I understand why you didn't want to tell me Kirby's name when I asked... Though I somehow doubt he is the Star Warrior from the legend..." And with that Fumu would be one of really few people in the whole village.

"Yeah he doesn't really look that impressive..." Bun certainly had a point, but appearances could deceive.

"Maybe. But don't let his appearance fool you. Sometimes opponents that look weak are actually quite strong."

"True. You are small too and don't look that strong, but you are!" Bun didn't notice the signs Fumu gave him to stop. He didn't even notice it might not have been such a good idea to say that even after he had finished. The only indication for him was Meta Knight's tone.

"Thank you, Bun." Only then did Bun notice Meta Knight might not like what he had said just now. But really only because Meta Knight sounded really forced.

"Uh... ah... I didn't mean it like that! What I meant was...uh... you do look strong, but all your opponents until now were simple far bigger than you are!" A pathetic attempt to save the situation in Meta Knight's opinion, but of course he knew Bun was right. All his opponents had been far bigger than himself. He would simply ignore it.

"Back to topic." Bun looked quite relieved. "Kirby maybe doesn't look strong and he didn't fight in the village, but he is really strong." All people present looked at the peaceful sleeping form of Kirby. Three of them couldn't imagine this to be the case.

"You say that, but I'm not quite convinced..." Even though Bun voiced that thought Meta Knight was sure Fumu and Tokkori thought the same thing.

"Oh I'm sure you will see just how strong he is soon enough. I don't think Dedede will suddenly stop sending demon beasts and I can imagine Kirby will be his new target instead of me." Meta Knight was sure the king wouldn't like Kirby much more than himself, considering Kirby had caused the _accident_ that was almost a given.

"I have another question. Kirby is a demon beast, isn't he?" A nod from Meta Knight. "But the legend is about the _Star Warrior_ Kirby, so how can that possibly be him?" And that certainly was a problem, at least in Fumu's eyes.

"I never said he was that Star Warrior, did I?" That left Fumu with a dumbfounded expression because she realized Meta Knight really had never said that. "Though it would be possible it is him nonetheless." Now he had lost them all.

"Kirby is a demon beast, yes. But... he could also be considered a Star Warrior." And still none of them got what he was talking about and he left them with more questions than answers. "The Galaxy Soldier Army and the Star Warriors were something Nightmare hated, still hates in fact. And they always escaped total destruction, frustrating Nightmare to no end. Which is why he tried something more... underhanded." Meta Knight stopped talking, remembering back and his eyes glowing green.

"Nightmare's goal was to create a demon beast that would be able to infiltrate his enemy's ranks, acting as a Star Warrior."

"And... that demon beast was Kirby?" There was no answer at first, Meta Knight looking somewhere into the distance, not even realizing where he was right now, eyes still green.

"Kirby... never got to fulfill that role, some _incident_ destroyed that plan of Nightmare quite spectacularly. But Kirby would be too young to be accepted into the Galaxy Soldier Army anyway, he can still be considered an infant although he is much older than what he looks like." No one asked about that _incident_, knowing Meta Knight would refuse to answer.

"He is a Star Warrior, Nightmare created him as one, but he isn't really one at the same time." Confusing as ever, but at the same time at least making some sense.

"You were surprised when I asked if you were Kirby and your eyes changed color then, too. Did know of the legend and were surprised because I thought it was you?" Tokkori and Bun by now wondered why Fumu even still knew that. Kirby was still fast asleep.

"I wonder why you even want to know that, but no, I didn't know the legend then. I heard for the first time when you told me but moments later. I was simply surprised at the name, of course I thought of Kirby when I heard you ask."

Fumu nodded thoughtful, the others looking curiously at her and wondering why she even wanted to know.

"Natural curiosity," was all she had to say to that.

"So Kirby is a demon beast, but also a Star Warrior? Only just not exactly the same way as you are. Is that about right?" Surprisingly Tokkori spoke for the first time, summarizing what Meta Knight had said until now. He only nodded, not exactly sure how to describe it any other way. There was silence, until Fumu decided to speak up again.

"I think it is best to let the villagers simply believe Kirby is the legendary Star Warrior. That explanation just now won't really reach them anyway, so what use will it be? Let's just say he really is the Star Warrior from the legend, Meta Knight never denied it after all, undoubtedly because he knew they wouldn't listen, but still..."

"That seems acceptable, considering they won't listen it doesn't really matter either way and we can save us some trouble like this." And that was it. Their awesome plan for the following day.

* * *

Even though it was raining outside and it was almost too dark to see a thing a lone figure stood atop a hill, looking thoughtful into the distance without actually seeing what was there.

* * *

Meta Knight really wondered how the villagers had managed to organize the welcome party for Kirby that quickly. Considering they really had some trouble with some things (demon beasts...) it was a big surprise for him to actually see all villagers to greet Kirby when they arrived in the village.

Kirby of course was thrilled with all the attention he was getting or maybe it was because everyone was smiling at him and there was food. Knowing Kirby it was the food. But he had to wait before he was actually allowed to eat.

Everyone was sitting now and waiting for the mayor to finish his speech - or even start with it. Meta Knight didn't know what exactly was taking him that long, but everyone had already been waiting quite some time before the mayor even began speaking.

And it was essentially the same speech that had been made when Meta Knight was welcomed, boring Meta Knight and making him ignore the whole thing. He already braced himself for what he knew would follow.

"Cheers!"

But before any of them could actually drink anything it happened exactly what Meta Knight had braced himself for.

"Ah!"

Kirby was hungry and had started inhaling everything in sight - eatable or not. There was no food left after that, not even the dishes had been spared even though the villagers at least got them back. Although Kirby had inhaled the dishes as well he was currently spitting them back out, noticing they weren't to be eaten. The villagers' faces were priceless at that.

"I see you still do that when you are hungry."

"Poyo." The villagers still looked flabbergasted, Fumu's face in contrast now had an accusing look. Her look clearly told him she was angry he hadn't told her Kirby would do that. And Meta Knight wasn't the least bit sorry about that.

Silence reigned after that little display of Kirby's powers to inhale everything in sight, no one sure how to comment the situation. And they didn't have to because Dedede decided to show up and comment on the whole situation.

"What's this all about?" As always Dedede along with Escargon drove his tank into the village, ignoring there might be villagers that could be overrun. It was a wonder he still hadn't managed that, but he had aimed for Meta Knight and he had no trouble evading.

"Why's everyone here and- what's this? Havin' a party?" Let the villagers be the ones to tell him or doing it himself? Meta Knight didn't have to think long for this. Before any of the villagers could speak up he had done it himself.

"More specifically it is a welcome party." Dedede glared at him although Meta Knight hadn't even done anything, yet.

"For?" Dedede looked around, searching for a new face, someone that would be welcomed. He soon spotted Kirby, who had a curious expression on his face.

"Poyo?" Kirby tilted his head to the side, looking at Dedede. Then he smiled at him, but that had absolutely no effect on Dedede other than making him angry.

"Who are you?" Dedede sent Kirby an angry glare and continued addressing everyone present. "And why does he get a party? I'm the king so I deserve a party!" Meta Knight snorted at that and also got a glare from Dedede for that.

"That is Kirby. You are familiar with the legend of 'Kirby of the Stars', are you not?" And Meta Knight saw recognition in Dedede's eyes at the name even before he said anything.

"Kirby of the Stars?" He looked at Kirby. "That's him? Wait a minute! Wasn't he the one who destroyed my throne room yesterday?" That was unexpected and really unfortunate. Just a minute ago Dedede hadn't even known who Kirby was, now however he remembered Kirby had caused that chaos yesterday. And that was not good.

Predictably the next thing Dedede did was trying to attack Kirby. And that was it, he tried. He would have liked running Kirby over with his tank really much, but his way was blocked by several people and even Dedede wouldn't try to run 20 or so others over just to get to one other.

Meta Knight meanwhile had motioned to Fumu and Bun to get Kirby away when Dedede had looked in another direction. They got the hint and when Dedede was trying to get past everyone in his way they got Kirby away. And Meta Knight would delay him further.

"Don't you think you somehow deserve this?" Dedede stopped his attempts to get to Kirby (who wasn't even there anymore) and turned in Meta Knight's direction.

"What do you mean?" Meta Knight smirked. That might take a while and would allow Fumu and Bun to get Kirby out of the way.

"You send those demon beasts and terrorize everyone. I am perfectly aware of the fact I am your target, but everyone else also suffers because of the demon beasts. A fitting punishment that demon beasts destroyed part of your castle, in fact I think there is more damage to the castle than to the village. At least the kitchen suffered greatly."

"So it was _you_ who destroyed it!" Before Meta Knight could answer Escargon chose to speak up for the first time.

"I don't think that was him. There was the sound of an explosion earlier and the kitchen definitely was destroyed by one. That certainly were some of the demon beasts. And to be fair he did get rid of all of them and so most likely prevented more damage to the castle. Waddle Doo also said he killed the demon beasts."

Meta Knight smirked again and Dedede scowled at Escargon. That wasn't what Meta Knight had expected, but it would certainly do. And there were more things that would waste time because the villagers didn't know the details and were confused. Which was why chief Borun asked.

"What happened? What is this about Kirby destroying the throne room and Meta Knight destroying the kitchen?" Everyone's face had the same confused expression, what served Meta Knight just fine.

"You noticed Kirby was with the demon beasts yesterday?" Everyone nodded, but Meta Knight didn't even wait for that. "Kirby decided to take them along and wreck some havoc in the castle. Apparently the demon beasts destroyed the throne room and I later encountered some demon beasts in the kitchen. They caused an explosion that destroyed the kitchen. I still wonder _what_ exactly they used for that though..."

"But Kirby didn't do anything bad. And he is Kirby of the Stars, our savior." Widespread agreement from the villagers, loud denying from Dedede, no reaction from Escargon and unseen smirking from Meta Knight. That went even better than expected.

"He still destroyed my throne room!"

"I seriously doubt that." Meta Knight spoke again, simply to annoy Dedede and because he actually really doubted that. "If his behavior in the village was any indication he didn't do a thing in your throne room. That will have been the other demon beasts."

If looks could kill Meta Knight would be dead right now. Dedede did not appreciate Meta Knight defending Kirby and worst of all he was succeeding. The villagers wouldn't listen anyway until Kirby did something to them personally. Until then they wouldn't believe Kirby was even capable of destroying anything.

Dedede was not amused, Meta Knight however was very much.

"Fine then he didn't do it! But he was with the demon beasts that did!"

"As an innocent bystander." By now Dedede pretty much wanted to strangle Meta Knight.

"Give it up, Your Majesty. He will counter everything you say, making this whole argument rather pointless." And now Dedede felt betrayed. Not only were the villagers on Meta Knight's side, but Escargon as well.

"Outta my way!" That only left chasing Kirby, ignoring the fact they all thought he was their savior. And the villagers got out of the way, knowing Dedede was in a foul mood and would probably really run them over.

The only problem for Dedede now was that Kirby was long gone. Realizing Meta Knight had only tried to distract him - and rather successfully at that - Dedede turned in his direction, shouting in anger at him.

"You!" Only to notice Meta Knight had taken the chance and disappeared.

* * *

"And you couldn't come up with a better hiding place?"

Fumu and Bun shrieked at the voice that suddenly appeared behind them. They hadn't noticed Meta Knight had approached them from behind, making it really easy for Meta Knight to scare them.

After Meta Knight had left the village it hadn't taken long for him to find Fumu, Bun and Kirby again. They had taken refuge in one of the fields outside the village, more specifically a watermelon field. It would do to get rid of Dedede, but it was far too obvious a choice for Meta Knight. With all the time he had given them he would have assumed they had come up with a better hiding place.

"I hate it when you do that!" Fumu's outburst had no effect on Meta Knight, much to Fumu's frustration. "And that wasn't exactly my choice of hiding place. Kirby ran over here and wouldn't come back out so we figured we could also stay here."

"Another thing that did not change then... But you do realize this is not exactly the best hiding place, don't you? I found you with my first guess, which does not mean Dedede will, but the chance would be there and I am pretty sure he will not give up. I can imagine he also wants to find me now, considering I angered him I am in fact sure he wants to." Which made it not really the smartest idea to go to the place Kirby was at, but oh well.

"Do I want to know what you did to Dedede?" Meta Knight only shrugged in response. "Anyway no one except for you found us yet and you don't count." Meta Knight was about to object, but Fumu simply kept talking. "And what did you mean with 'another thing that did not change'?"

"Ok why do I not count? And I meant the watermelons. Kirby always loved them and obviously that fact did not change." Meta Knight didn't know how many of them Kirby had already eaten, but he was currently eating one and at least in his direct reach none were left.

"We noticed that." And Bun was gesturing around himself and Fumu where also no watermelons were left. Kirby had been hungry it seemed.

"Well?" And Meta Knight still waited for his answer.

"You don't count because you told us to get Kirby away and knew we would hide somewhere. And you don't count because you are you." Meta Knight tilted his head slightly in confusion, not exactly sure what Fumu meant with her statement.

"You are far too smart to not find us in such an obvious hiding place. I'm convinced you would even find us in the best hiding place there is, simply because you are you and always accomplish what you try to accomplish." That slightly surprised Meta Knight.

"You actually think that? I admit I get the 'too smart' part, but I certainly do not accomplish everything I try to accomplish. The simple fact I am here of all places is proof of that."

"Here? As in this watermelon field?" Both Meta Knight and Fumu looked at Bun. "What?"

"I did not mean this field, Bun. I meant this planet. If you think back you will notice I was not exactly happy about landing on this planet. I certainly did not plan on ending up here." Meta Knight wasn't too sure if telling them had been a good idea. Both their looks were not exactly happy.

"It could have been far worse though..." Now that was an almost desperate attempt to save the situation, but thankfully Kirby saved the situation. Well, he became the new topic.

"Poyo!" Now Kirby had eaten so many watermelons there were hardly any left. That wasn't only a bad thing, Kirby at least was happy now, but whoever owned this field would not be happy. And Fumu, Bun and Meta Knight all realized that.

"I think it is time to change location." Another glance in Kirby's direction had Fumu and Bun nodding in agreement and Meta Knight grabbed Kirby, all but forcing him away.

And though he was really reluctant to leave the watermelons behind Kirby soon ceased to struggle against Meta Knight's grip and he was racing ahead of them.

Completely disregarding the fact Dedede would still be searching for them they returned to the village, following Kirby. Many villagers still were simply there, but with the notable absence of Dedede and Escargon. Either they were searching somewhere else or the next demon beast would soon attack. Meta Knight suspected the demon beast.

"Oh you are back. King Dedede is still searching for you and left some time ago. He seemed really angry..." Chief Borun, one of the few people Meta Knight had actually talked to in the village, seemed slightly concerned. About what exactly he wasn't too sure, though.

"Good he left. Then I can play with Kirby and the others." Both Meta Knight and Fumu looked at Bun, telling him with their looks only that was not what would happen now. In fact letting Kirby play with the other kids when both of them were almost completely sure Dedede would send a demon beast was the last thing they would let them do. The kids would all be in unnecessary danger.

Which reminded them now the others would most likely be in unnecessary danger. Coming into the village had not exactly been their best idea and both Fumu and Meta Knight realized that now.

"Don't you think we should leave? Right now?" Fumu looked at Meta Knight, totally ignoring the chattering villagers around them.

"We should not have returned here." And both looked at the cause for their return, namely Kirby. He was quite fascinated with the yellow butterfly that was flying above him and he followed it's every movement with his eyes.

"Bun get Kirby. We are leaving before Dedede arrives." Bun grumbled something about being ordered around under his breath, but he got Kirby to follow him and they left the village again.

Unfortunately many of the villagers followed them, eager to be with Kirby now because they had had no chance before with Dedede crashing their party. The result was they were all caught up in what happened next.

Unsurprisingly Meta Knight didn't care for the villagers and chose to ignore them, Fumu turned with a concerned look in their direction, but chose to do nothing. Bun and Kirby ignored them altogether and were running around, Kirby chasing after Bun.

And unsurprisingly Dedede had ordered another demon beast and he found them all right away. So much for hiding from Dedede.

"Oh it's the king."

"What is this behind him?"

'This behind him' turned out to be a huge blue bug with a sword in either hand, threateningly clashing his weapons together.

"This is the demon beast Bugzzy. A powerful swordsman, but rather slow due to its size."

"Ah." And that was really everything that could be said. The swordsman was obvious, two swords spoke volumes, and being slow could at least be guessed. Even the name was not that hard to guess, but Meta Knight still thought it was ridiculous. The name Bugzzy was exactly as creative as Blocky had been.

"Found ya!" Dedede grinned at Meta Knight, who inwardly wondered if Dedede had really thought that through. For fighting Meta Knight a swordsman was really not the smartest choice and for fighting Kirby nothing was a smart choice. Not only because everyone really liked him already and wouldn't like for him to be hurt.

"Congratulations." Meta Knight's mocking tone was obvious and did nothing to help the situation. In fact Dedede did what he until now had always done. He angrily ordered the demon beast to attack Meta Knight, who simply smirked at that. Sometimes Dedede was so predictable.

"Get him!" Still smirking Meta Knight avoided the first strikes with ease, simply because he was far too quick for Bugzzy. He had already dodged the next attack when he realized something. Instead of going to a safe place away from him when he had moved closer to Bugzzy before its attacks Fumu and Bun were still behind him. Kirby was, too, but he would survive a hit from Bugzzy. Fumu and Bun however would not and Meta Knight had to make a decision.

"Ah shit."

Everyone heard when Meta Knight was hit by one of the swords. His mask cracked above his left eye by the sheer force he was hit with and he was sent face first into a rock some distance away.

And everyone simply stared at the scene before them, even after Meta Knight hit the rock and lay motionless on the ground. They all were surprised at that turn of events. The first one to recover was Dedede.

"HA HA! Got him!" Speaking to Bugzzy he continued. "Let him be. Attack Kirby now!" Bugzzy seemed reluctant, but in the end complied and went for Kirby.

Kirby was obviously not prepared for that and instead of attacking or dodging the attacks he chose something different. He ran away. Ultimately Kirby only ran in circles, but Bugzzy followed him and tried to hit Kirby - with no success so far.

Fumu and Bun meanwhile got over their shock and after a look in Kirby's direction sprinted for Meta Knight. He lay facedown on the ground and gave no indication of even being still alive other than faint breathing, sending both Fumu and Bun into a small panic.

"What do we do?" Fumu and Bun kneeled on either of Meta Knight and had no idea what to do with him. The situation got worse when Kirby was hit by Bugzzy and was sent flying through the air.

He didn't get up in time and Bugzzy mercilessly kicked him away. The only good thing about that was it hadn't used the swords for that, that would have caused far more damage.

By now Fumu and Bun were torn between staying with Meta Knight (for whom they could do nothing) and trying to help Kirby (were they would only be in the way). They decided when Kirby crashed into another rock, nowhere near as hard as Meta Knight, but it surely was painful.

"Kirby!" Bun sprinted off in Kirby's direction and Fumu made to follow, but stopped when she noticed something in the grass. The star shaped badge Meta Knight previously had on his shoulder was lying on the ground and blinking in a sickly green light. Fumu picked it up, momentary distracted from the situation Kirby was in, and wondered what that meant.

"Ah!" Fumu had totally forgotten about everyone else that was watching, but their collective shout made her remember them again. Bugzzy had kicked Kirby again, making Kirby fly in Fumu's direction and coming to a halt a short distance away.

"Kirby!" Kirby looked up at Fumu, his gaze slightly wavering, as he tried to stand up again. When he looked at the star in Fumu's hand his eyes completely focused again and he was able to stand, puzzling Fumu and making her wonder what exactly that thing in her hand was.

Even more surprising was the fact Kirby stopped running away. He actually dodged Bugzzy's attacks and made to counterattack. After Bugzzy had missed him Kirby ran full speed, jumped and kicked Bugzzy.

Unfortunately that had no effect, Bugzzy actually laughed at that weak attempt, as did Dedede - but not for long.

Kirby got frustrated and did what he had already done earlier that day. He inhaled.

Everyone felt the force with which Kirby inhaled and Bugzzy was gradually dragged closer to Kirby. Bugzzy struggled as to not be swallowed and succeeded when Kirby had to stop exhausted, with Bugzzy still some distance away. It was to heavy.

Meanwhile Meta Knight slowly regained consciousness. He kept lying on the ground, feeling generally awful and with a splitting headache.

"Kirby!" That however prompted him to at least look up, which he almost instantly regretted because if possible his headache got worse. He groaned and dropped his head, but with this alerted Fumu before him.

"Meta Knight!" Fumu stood now directly before him, a clearly worried expression on her face. "Are you-" but Meta Knight, trying to ignore his headache, interrupted her when he noticed what was in her hand.

"When did you take that?" Fumu was clearly startled by the serious tone Meta Knight used, more serious than normal.

"I-" but Meta Knight interrupted her again.

"Later. Call 'Warp Star'!" That puzzled Fumu even more than the object in her hand. Why did Meta Knight want her to do something like that?

"Why-" and again Meta Knight interrupted her, clearly at the end of his patience.

"Just do it! Now!" His shouting made him wince because of the headache, but that was the only way Fumu would stop questioning him. And indeed she did what he had told her.

"Warp Star!" Only to be surprised when the star shot out of her hand, flew in Kirby's direction and saved him. And not one second too late because Bugzzy nearly had crushed him.

"What is that?" Meta Knight ignored Fumu's question in favor of trying to stand up. He managed to stand up, but felt quite dizzy.

"Tell Kirby to inhale."

"Huh?" Fumu had been busy watching Kirby fly around Bugzzy and had not exactly expected Meta Knight to suddenly stand beside her.

"Tell him to inhale." Meta Knight impatiently repeated his command.

"He already tried, with no success obviously." Meta Knight glared at Fumu and she quickly backed down and told Kirby to inhale again.

"Kirby try to inhale it again!" Kirby complied at once and began inhaling. Bugzzy was dragged in Kirby's direction again, but it was obvious it wouldn't be enough this time, as well.

That is until Meta Knight intervened. Though he really hated to do that he threw his sword at Bugzzy's right arm and Bugzzy lost one of its swords, which was promptly inhaled by Kirby.

Under the wondering eyes of everyone present Kirby swallowed and began transforming. Kirby now wore a green hat and had a sword in his right hand.

"What the hell?" Everyone except for Meta Knight was surprised at what had happened right now and was staring at Kirby, who now had a determined look on his face.

Bugzzy however was not impressed, generated at new sword and attacked Kirby again. He blocked the strikes with his own weapon easily enough, frustrating the watching Dedede and the fighting Bugzzy and making it attack much more furious.

But even those strikes were not enough and they were all blocked by Kirby.

"Do it."

Meta Knight was positive Kirby hadn't heard him, but he did exactly what Meta Knight wanted. Kirby raised his sword, now glowing with energy, and brought it down swiftly, sending a Sword Beam at his enemy.

Bugzzy tried to block the attack, but to no avail. The demon beast was cut in half and died without actually ever having a chance against that last attack.

Everyone cheered and ran in Kirby's direction, now completely sure he was the legendary Star Warrior. Everyone but Meta Knight, Escargon and Dedede.

"That damn Kirby! That last demon beast cost a fortune!" Dedede was about to drive in the direction of the others, intent on attacking Kirby himself, but Meta Knight stepped into the way and stopped Dedede.

"What do you want?" Dedede snapped at Meta Knight, furious at yet another loss. Escargon was not sure if he should be annoyed or happy the demon beast was gone.

"Stopping you from a stupid mistake." Meta Knight looked even more menacing than before with the crack in his mask in Dedede's opinion. But that did not stop him from shouting at him.

"What?"

"Do you wish to be sliced in half as well?" His head was killing him, but Dedede didn't even notice as he was trying to judge if Kirby would really do that.

"He is unbeatable now." Dedede wasn't sure that was the truth, but didn't dare risking it.

"Shit." He angrily drove away with Escargon.

* * *

Who found the only quote from the anime? ;)


	7. Curio's Curious Discovery

This chapter got longer and longer... Hope you enjoy anyway.

* * *

**7. Curio's C****urious Discovery**

"Why did I agree to do this again?"

"Because you are such a nice guy and do everything Fumu asks of you?"

"Of course, how could I forget that? Now try again and this time seriously."

"Maybe because Fumu will be angry at you if you don't do it and all but threatened you to help her?"

"That seems more like a reason though I am not sure _why_ I let myself be threatened with anything. I don't even know what she threatened me with, but I am pretty sure it is nothing I could not handle because seriously this is... how shall I phrase this?" The one speaking paused for a while before speaking again. "It is not exactly something I would normally indulge in in my free time."

The other person nodded in agreement.

"Can you two stop complaining already? This is important and the more people help the faster it will be finished!" Fumu all but shouted at Meta Knight and Bun, who had dared to complain about their task, which was essentially digging around in the sand.

Meta Knight's mood had been anything but good the last two weeks and it was a wonder he had even agreed to help. After Bugzzy had knocked him out he had been angry ever since and had disappeared right after Dedede, not to be seen by anyone for some time.

His mask still had the crack above his left eye and although no one could actually see his face and confirm his expression he practically radiated anger whenever someone had asked about that until now. The fact Chef Kawasaki had generously offered Meta Knight (black) duct tape to fix the damage had also not been well received. Meta Knight had displayed an amazing self-control and had not attacked him outright but simply snapped at him that he didn't want it.

That had been the highlight of Fumu's day and she hadn't stopped laughing for quite some time. No one was even sure if she had laughed because Chef Kawasaki had offered it, because of the look on his face after Meta Knight had snapped at him or because she pictured what it would look like for Meta Knight to fix his mask with duct tape.

Meta Knight had been seething with rage and had consequently stopped talking to her (and Kawasaki) for three days, even when he saw her, and had, in every sense of the word, ignored her for that time. Fumu had merely smiled (albeit strained) and enjoyed that now she had made Meta Knight angry and not the other way round. But she was careful because she was skating on really thin ice right now and she knew it.

"As I was already saying this is nothing I would normally do. In fact I would certainly find more enjoyable things to do right now. Speaking to Dedede for example would be among those things." That of course was a lie, but Fumu didn't have to know that fact. She now was angry, which was really the only thing Meta Knight had tried to accomplish with his comment.

Meta Knight was talking to Fumu again, even helped her right now, but he had not forgotten the past. It was one of the reasons he was currently angering Fumu again.

"Oh for heaven's sake! Do you hear Kirby complaining? No! He is quietly helping Mister Curio and I!" Kirby was quiet, but helping them he was definitely not. And he was only quiet because he had drifted off into sleep ten minutes ago. Meta Knight had noticed of course, but hadn't felt like telling Fumu.

"It is not that boring, is it Kirby?" And turning in Kirby's direction Fumu saw exactly how boring Kirby thought it was. The result was frustration on Fumu's side and smirking on Meta Knight's side.

"So much for it not being boring." Meta Knight almost whispered those words, but Fumu seemed to hear him anyway. The glare she sent him suggested that.

"I still don't get what we are even doing." And it wasn't the first time Bun had said that and Fumu had angrily reminded him what they did. This time it was Curio who told him.

"Ah... we are searching for really old and valuable artifacts from the past. They can tell us a lot about what was happening in Dreamland before our time."

"And?" That response was not to Curio's liking or to that of Fumu.

"And? Bun that is really fascinating and helping us understand more of our past!"

"Really fascinating."

"Yes it is." Fumu chose to ignore Meta Knight's obvious sarcasm and started digging again, soon getting excited by the... rock she found.

"Oh! Look at this Mister Curio, I found something!" Now Bun couldn't resist anymore and had to see for himself what Fumu had found. Only to be disappointed.

"That's a rock. What's so special about it?" Both Fumu and Curio didn't quite agree with that and had disapproving looks on their faces.

"That is a valuable artifact and not some rock! This will give us important information about the past!"

"Uh-hu." And Bun wasn't the only one that couldn't care less. Kirby had done the smart thing and was still sleeping. Bun and Meta Knight however would have to endure the 'valuable artifacts' for quite some time to follow. And Meta Knight still wasn't sure why he even had agreed to help Fumu in the first place...

By now Fumu had even taken out her camera and started taking pictures of the rock she had found, seemingly from every angle possible and making Meta Knight wonder why she even took these pictures.

"That is still really fascinating, but don't you think we should continue searching for more ah... _valuable artifacts_? There surely are more than one here." Bun made a miserable face, but Fumu and Curio started digging again.

"And I still think it's only a rock..." Bun made sure only Meta Knight could hear that. "I'll go see if Kirby is alright!" That was for everyone to hear and before anyone could stop him Bun went in direction of Kirby, leaving Meta Knight behind.

He sighed and continued digging though with far less enthusiasm than Fumu and Curio. And he imagined what would happen if he used a Sword Beam to get rid of the sand. Every _valuable artifact_ would probably be destroyed - or rather definitely be destroyed, but he still considered doing it.

His thoughts were interrupted when he hit something hard with his shovel. Another _valuable artifact_ he feared and his fear proved to be correct after some time of digging. At least he assumed the box he had dug out held something valuable for Fumu and Curio. Then again even the box could be valuable because it seemed old.

"Oh you found something." That much had been obvious and Meta Knight simply handed Curio the box and made his escape to where Kirby and Bun were playing in the sand. They were building a sand castle, though it was still pretty small.

"Are they done?" Meta Knight turned around and looked in Curio's and Fumu's direction. They both looked fascinated at the box Meta Knight had given Curio and hadn't even opened it yet.

For Meta Knight it simply looked like any other box with some, for him totally irrelevant, ornaments, that seemed to have a meaning to Curio at least. Fumu seemed fascinated, but Meta Knight wouldn't put it past her to actually fake that.

Then the highlight followed when Curio opened the box and whatever was inside had him exclaim in joy.

"Ah! I can learn so much from these!"

Meta Knight turned back in Bun's direction, who in turn attended to his sand castle again. There was no need to answer the question, Curio was captivated for now and was most certainly not done. After he had admired his box for some time he would continue digging and Fumu would help him.

And he was right, for the next few minutes Curio only had eyes for the box and its contents. Fumu was again taking pictures, apparently of every single object inside and some time after the tenth object Meta Knight had stopped counting and observed Kirby and Bun.

They had completely ignored the other two and were calmly building their sand castle. That is until Kirby decided to destroy it. Well, it wasn't exactly a deliberate decision, it was more like Kirby tripped and landed atop the sand castle. Either way it was almost completely destroyed, Bun was unhappy and full of sand, Kirby was confused and also full of sand, Fumu and Curio hadn't even noticed and Meta Knight had at least been far enough away to not be hit with any sand. He was also the only one slightly amused by the whole thing.

"Aw Kirby... Now we have to build the whole thing again..."

"Poy?" Kirby looked confused at the place were the sand castle used to be and where now only piles of sand were left. "Kirby you destroyed it!" Kirby either didn't understand or ignored Bun and started building again, much to Bun's annoyance.

And the next annoyance was already on the way. Fumu had decided to come over and would certainly bully them into helping her again. Bun and Kirby, however, saw her and Bun grabbed Kirby and the two of them ran off.

Meta Knight had been staring somewhere into the nothing, far away with his thoughts, and hadn't noticed her. The result was Meta Knight digging in the sand again a few moments later.

And he didn't even know _why_. In the past he had always outsmarted Fumu or had ignored her until she left him alone (a rare case for sure), but now she had annoyed him for only a while and he had agreed just to shut her up. Something had to be wrong.

So grumbling Meta Knight continued digging, his mood decreasing rapidly. If it had at least been interesting he wouldn't even feel the need to send Fumu disapproving glances every once in a while, but he didn't care for the things he was searching for. He didn't care for Pop Star's history in the slightest.

Thus it didn't come as a surprise when Meta Knight didn't shout in joy when he hit something hard again. In fact he gave no reaction at all, except for a sigh, and simply continued digging.

An hour later he had dug out a big stone coffin. In this time both Curio and Fumu had noticed Meta Knight had found something, but instead of helping had watched as Meta Knight was digging. This was the only reason it had taken him that much time - he had been digging slowly on purpose to annoy them. Had they helped he would have been faster.

But an hour later the coffin was above the ground and waited to be opened. Only for Fumu to run off and declare she wanted the whole village to see that Dedede was not their rightful king.

Meta Knight was annoyed and Curio seemed nervous, what did not help to improve Meta Knight's mood in any way. If the day continued like that someone would die - killed by Meta Knight in a fit of rage.

* * *

"This is a coffin of one of our ancestors?"

"Yes."

Fumu had returned and with her many villagers, all that could be found. All of them were now standing before the coffin, staring fascinated at the cracked stone surface. Whatever Fumu had told them, it had captured their interest and they waited eagerly for someone to open the coffin.

But no one seemingly planned to do that, everyone that Fumu had taken along with her was waiting, Curio was fidgeting nervously and Fumu was standing beside the coffin and looked as if she wanted to make a speech first. Some would say they couldn't wait any longer, Meta Knight _wouldn't_ wait much longer.

He had dug out the damn thing and though he did not care for Dreamland's history in the slightest he wanted to get over with everything right now. He had waited for Fumu to return, but he wouldn't wait for her to deliver a speech about something totally irrelevant. If the coffin wouldn't be opened in the next five minutes he would smash the thing to pieces himself.

Thankfully there hadn't been that many questions and Meta Knight hadn't even listened because he was making plans to smash the coffin. And when Fumu wanted to speak she was interrupted, what would certainly delay opening the coffin further, but at least things would become interesting because it was Dedede who interrupted. As always.

"Outta the way!" No one was stupid enough _not _to get away.

Dedede's tank came to a halt with screeching tires right in front of the coffin. Dedede looked disapproving at the coffin, Escargon seemed at least mildly interested. Everyone else was standing around the tank, waiting for Dedede to speak. They didn't have to wait long, almost instantly after looking at the coffin Dedede started complaining.

"You didn't come to my coronation anniversary, but all of you are here to see some stupid coffin!" Meta Knight wondered why exactly anyone should have gone to a coronation anniversary and was pleased to know that no one had attended. Another proof how popular Dedede was among the villagers.

"Maybe that is because you are not the rightful king and _this_ is an ancient stone from our ancestors." The villagers were whispering among themselves, clearly displeasing Dedede because he could guess what they were saying. Meta Knight's mood was still far from good, but seeing Fumu speak to Dedede like that improved his mood at least a bit.

"So what? What's so special about that thing?" And finally, _finally_ someone else had spoken the words Meta Knight had thought since he first saw the coffin. _What_ was so special about it?

"It belonged to our ancestors! Now it will be made clear who Dreamland really belongs to!" Dedede seemed suspiciously calm as Fumu not so subtly hinted he wasn't the rightful king. He seemed to notice this as well because a few seconds later he was shouting right back at Fumu.

"I am the rightful king! _My_ ancestors ruled for generations before me!"

"Really? So why don't you open the lid for yourself?" Now things would become interesting. Fumu and everyone else obviously hadn't noticed Dedede's lack of reaction for the first few seconds. Meta Knight had and he had a vague idea what would happen now.

"Yeah, I will do just that!" And with that Dedede grabbed his mallet and jumped out of his tank. He made his way over to the coffin and stopped right in front of it, inspecting it before actually doing anything. Then he smirked, swung his mallet and smashed the lid.

"Ha!" Before anyone even saw what was inside Dedede had already stated his opinion of the coffin's contents. And as 'ha' from Dedede wasn't exactly a good thing most of the time, everyone hurried to see what was inside.

All the villagers - strangely sans Curio - took position behind Dedede and tried to see what was inside the coffin, resulting in much shoving around because Dedede was in the way and everyone had to find a way to look past him.

"What does that mean?" Meta Knight hadn't bothered taking a look himself. Fumu's question, however, along with Dedede's smirk and his earlier suspicions was enough to tell him he was at least partially right. He would have to investigate if his other suspicion was right later.

Whispering broke out among the villagers and they looked uncertainly at each other. Fumu seemed frozen and couldn't say another thing, so it was Bun who spoke next.

"That dead guy looks like Dedede." Now Meta Knight even had proof that he had been right. Dedede had smirked when opening the coffin and he wouldn't do that if he didn't know what was inside. Now he only had to prove to the others Dedede had done something. But knowing Fumu he wouldn't even have to do anything himself.

"This... this means the rightful owner of Dreamland..."

"Is the Dedede tribe! That means _I_ am the rightful king!" Dedede hadn't even waited for Chef Kawasaki to finish his sentence. He declared for everyone to hear what was right - in his opinion at least.

"That's ridiculous!" At least Fumu had another opinion. She didn't believe it and angrily shouted at Dedede, now not so frozen anymore.

"Ridiculous? Look at that! There's proof right there!" Dedede gestured for everyone to take another look at the coffin and Fumu's shoulders sagged when she did that. Meta Knight couldn't see her face because he was some distance behind her and she had her back to him, but he imagined her look of confusion.

"Good job, Curio." All people present looked at Curio, but he appeared tense and didn't give an answer. He simply accepted Dedede's praise, who promptly went to ignoring him again.

"Now we know I am the rightful king. Search for more things left behind, dig them out!" Almost everyone hurried to obey and only Fumu, Bun, Curio, Kirby and Dedede were left behind before the coffin. Escargon hadn't shown much interest since the coffins contents had been revealed and observed everything from the tank and Meta Knight was content watching everything from afar. Either Dedede hadn't even noticed him or he ignored him.

"So Dedede really is the rightful king."

"I always said he was!" Now wasn't that just hypocritically? Obviously no one had appeared to that coronation anniversary (most likely to honor the king or something similar), but now that Dedede was 'proven' to be their king they all knew it from the start.

Meta Knight had the urge to laugh, but decided against it to not attract any attention to himself. As long as no one remembered he was there he could observe what would happen.

"Oh a former king's mask!"

"A vase!"

_Everyone_ found something when digging around in the sand and Meta Knight only felt anger. Why did he have to dig around far longer to find anything and every last one of them found something in seconds? The fact that the box he had dug out was in all likelihood no fake did not cheer him up in the slightest. The only thing that somewhat pleased him, was the fact sooner or later someone (Fumu) would figure out those things had to be fake and Dedede had something to do with it.

"You can take everything you find. It's a present." And if no one had been suspicious before they should be now because Dedede gave them something for free. Of course not one of them had any suspicions and they ran off.

Not soon after Curio went in direction of the village and Fumu, Kirby and Bun watched as he did so. Dedede was dancing around, obviously happy, and Meta Knight clearly saw Escargon facepalm. That was enough.

* * *

_"What is this thing? You told me to call it 'Warp Star', but what exactly is it?" Why did Fumu have to ask now__ when he was like that? Meta Knight was obviously not in the mood to talk to her and answer her questions. She had noticed that, of course, because his tone was icy and he had told her as much._

_"Fumu I already told you, don't bother me!" But an icy tone wasn't enough and so he also shouted at her. Fumu flinched back, but refused to drop it. Meta Knight had ordered her around when Kirby fought Bugzzy and she had obeyed, but now she wanted to know what all this was about._

_"And I told you I want to know!" Both stared at each other, equally furious, and neither wanted to give in. Fumu was the first to look away, intimidated by Meta Knight, but she still wouldn't go away. She looked up again when Meta Knight made a sound similar to a growl._

_"Will you leave me alone if I answer you?" It was voiced as a question, but Fumu knew it was not. It was an order to leave him alone if she didn't want to end up hurt or worse and Fumu was perfectly aware of that. For the first time she really, _really_ could imagine him to be a demon beast. And she remembered what Dedede had told her in the past, the thought making her shiver. _

_She nodded numbly and Meta Knight's previously clenched fists unclenched. Fumu would never admit it, but she was seriously scared, even though his fists were no longer clenched, because the look he gave her was still far from friendly. _Really_ far. _

_"Good. But first I have a question for you that I already asked before. When did you take the Warp Star?" Fumu tried to speak, but nothing came out and she had to clear her throat first. _

_"I... That Warp Star was on your shoulder, wasn't it?" Fumu got no answer. "It must have fallen when... when you were knocked out." Still no answer. "I picked it up because I saw it blinking and wondered what it was." Fumu couldn't interpret Meta Knight's silence and waited for him to say something, at the same time wondering if that had been the wrong answer._

_"Huh." Meta Knight was silent after that and didn't speak again, simply looking at Fumu. She waited, but when she was sure he wouldn't say anything else to that she decided to speak herself. _

_"So what does it do?" Fumu shifted uncomfortably under Meta Knight's piercing gaze. Then he decided to answer._

_"The Warp Star is the source of a Star Warrior's power. It also enables Kirby to fly as you will have noticed." Fumu nodded and kept standing on the spot. Meta Knight glared at her and went to move past her, after all he had answered her question and she had agreed to leave him alone if he did. _

_"It's Kirby's, isn't it?" Meta Knight had already passed her, but stopped and answered her question._

_"Yes." _

_"Then why did you have it?" That had bothered Fumu the whole time since she had seen Kirby use it. After all Meta Knight had had it since he first came to Pop Star. Had he stolen it from Kirby in the past? But that seemed unlikely, Meta Knight didn't seem the type and Kirby obviously knew him before and would certainly not have reacted the same way when he first saw Meta Knight had that been the case. _

_Fumu hadn't turned in Meta Knight's direction and when she did turn he had left without answering her question._

_She had gotten an answer, a hidden death threat (at least she interpreted it as one) and a glance at the demon that Meta Knight had once been and obviously could still be. She regretted her curiosity right now.

* * *

_

He saw Fumu running through the streets with a backpack from his place on top one of the houses. She was coming closer to Curio's place, but stopped when she saw what he was doing. He was dragging a cart with some... things on it, covered so no one saw what it was.

Meta Knight had a pretty good idea what it was, he wasn't too sure about Fumu, though. But Curio made it pretty obvious whatever he was doing was something he was nervous about. He looked around, trying to see if someone was near, but saw no one and began walking to the place they had been at earlier today.

Fumu had hidden behind a house and had not been seen, Meta Knight wouldn't let himself be seen, anyway, and Curio had only looked on the ground. Both followed him, Curio noticing neither of them and Fumu not noticing Meta Knight.

When Curio finally stopped it soon became obvious what he was doing. He set up lights and at once started digging. And when he had finished digging his hole he revealed what had been on the cart. A stone that looked much like Dedede did.

Fumu, obviously shocked by that, started taking pictures right away. Meta Knight could be sure she would confront Curio about that later.

And thus his theory was proven.

* * *

Meta Knight actually decided to show up the next day. Not because he was interested in what Curio had found (and what he knew to be a fake) and it couldn't even be called 'show up' exactly. He stayed in the shadows from where he could see everything while everyone else would certainly have trouble even noticing him.

He was there nonetheless and awaited the following events as did all the other people present. When word spread around Curio had found something it didn't take long and even Dedede heard it (Meta Knight was sure he knew already before).

Dedede was on the way to see the stone that looked almost like himself right now and everyone knew that. That left little time for Fumu to speak to Curio, so it was no wonder to Meta Knight when he saw her, along with Bun and Kirby, go to Curio.

"Mr. Curio I have to speak to you." She dragged him of before he could protest and Bun and Kirby followed, interested what Fumu had to say. Meta Knight also followed, though unnoticed and he stayed hidden.

But Fumu didn't say anything, she gave Curio the pictures she had taken and let him see for himself. He dropped one and Bun immediately snatched it away and looked at it himself.

"What's that mean?" But both Fumu and Curio ignored him. Fumu gave Curio her best 'I-am-so-disappointed-in-you' look and he visibly squirmed, uncomfortable with that look. She stayed silent until Curio decided to speak.

"I... Fumu..." But he didn't know what to say. He stopped, awkwardly, and looked at her. "Fumu I had to..."

Kirby, oblivious to what was going on, looked from Fumu to Curio in confusion. Bun also didn't get everything that was going on, but he asked.

"What's going on?"

"That stone is a fake. I saw Mr. Curio bury it last night. I never would have thought you would do something like that!" Fumu had looked at Bun while explaining, but had looked back at Curio at the end. He apparently felt guilty, but didn't answer Fumu.

"Keep those pictures and decide what you want to do with them." Fumu made her grand exit, closely followed by Bun and Kirby, only to be stopped. Dedede came around the corner and blocked their way, his look promising nothing good.

"Too bad you found out. Now I will have to shut you up." Meta Knight could have intervened right now. No one had seen him (thanks to the shadows) and his appearance would surprise everyone. But he didn't do anything, it was much more entertaining to watch.

The three children backed away, turned around and wanted to leave in the other direction, only to have their path blocked again. This time Waddle Doo stood in their way and even though he didn't look threatening it was clear he would obey Dedede's orders. And these orders were to capture the children.

They were dragged off into a chamber (Waddle Doo apologizing the whole time because he just did as ordered) and Dedede left them there, bound and gagged. And Meta Knight still could have intervened, but decided not to do it.

He would leave Fumu, Kirby and Bun alone for now and would observe the other things that were going on. If they hadn't managed to escape in thirty minutes he might consider helping them.

* * *

They hadn't escaped in the last thirty minutes or if they had they hadn't shown themselves. But knowing them the first thing they would have done would have been appearing on the stage and shouting at Dedede.

So they still were bound to a rock.

Meta Knight really had to consider his options now. Let carry things on as they were now (Curio about to take the stage in a few minutes) or play killjoy for Dedede and save the children? There were pros and cons for both and he had to decide which option would provide more entertainment.

He was pretty sure Curio would tell the truth, he still had the pictures and he seemed even more nervous than before. He was about to do something and the only thing he could do and could possibly be more nervous about was telling everyone the truth.

That is if he didn't decide to flee first. Waddle Doo had gotten the thankless task of telling what would happen now and he had to be the worst choice ever. He had lost the thread minutes ago already and since then had not said anything that was relevant. Dedede was becoming impatient, Curio became even more nervous (almost impossible, but he did) and everyone else was bored.

Meta Knight had ignored the whole thing, still trying to decide what to do, but his time was running out. Dedede would soon order Waddle Doo to stop and Curio would have to take the spotlight. Save them or not?

But finally Dedede had enough. He grabbed the microphone from Waddle Doo and announced Curio himself.

"Now _Professor_ Curio will tell ya about his great discovery!" Dedede went back to his seat beside the Cabinet Minister and his wife and waited for Curio to take the stage. He hesitated, but then decided to step to the microphone.

There he hesitated again and waited for some time to begin speaking. He took a few deep breaths and when he finally began speaking it was with great reluctance.

"Ah... there have been found a lot of... things in the last few days, here where I have been searching for a long time already. All of these things are connected to the Dedede tribe. That means... That... These valuable artifacts..." Curio completely stopped, causing confusion and whispering among the people before him.

The smirk Dedede had had on his face had vanished and was replaced with a frown. He knew as well as Meta Knight did what Curio would say next.

"These valuable artifacts aren't valuable at all! They are fakes!" Curio's nervous expression had suddenly been replaced by a determined one and he kept on talking. "I put them there myself. What I really wanted was to keep researching. However, I was getting poor because no one bought anything and Dedede offered to help me.

I agreed to what he wanted and buried the fake artifacts here in the sand. Here is the evidence!" Throwing pictures into the crowd was certainly not what everyone had expected, but after their surprise the villagers quickly took them and looked at them.

Dedede's frown had deepened and he was frantically looking around, trying to find a way to escape. Waddle Doo beside him was no help with that, either he didn't understand what was going on or he didn't care. Considering he seemed to have somewhat spaced out Meta Knight assumed he didn't even know what was going on.

"Those pictures are fake!" After receiving glares from everyone present Dedede saw the need to defend himself and what better way than denying the accusations? Unfortunately for him no one believed him and they all shouted at him.

It was totally beyond Meta Knight right now why Dedede had chosen to bring Waddle Doo along. Escargon would have been a far better choice. Meta Knight doubted Escargon would have been able to calm the villagers, but he would have tried at least. Waddle Doo, however, was totally useless for that and he wasn't even there anymore. He had disappeared somewhere in the last few moments.

"You are an awful person!"

"Apologize to Mister Curio!"

Dedede certainly wished he had disappeared. The situation was getting out of hand for him and he was about to explode and he would do something stupid - again.

It didn't help that Meta Knight couldn't stop himself from laughing anymore. That went exactly as he had expected and certainly not in favor of Dedede. His whole plan had been doomed from the start and Meta Knight had known it.

Dedede couldn't hear him laughing, the others were simply too loud for that, but Meta Knight made it pretty obvious. That was the final straw and Dedede had enough.

"Everyone is against me! I'll take everyone out!" He gestured to the stone Curio had buried last night. "Come on, Dedede Stone!"

To the surprise of everyone the stone started trembling, eyes emitting an eerie glow, and became bigger with every passing second. When it finally smashed through the ceiling everyone ran for their lives as to not be hit by the falling rocks.

Fortunately everyone managed to escape unharmed. _Un_fortunately that included Dedede as well. The stone had transformed and looked exactly like Dedede (only much bigger) and Dedede himself was standing on its left shoulder now.

"Demon beast..." Meta Knight spun around, surprised to hear that voice from behind. Behind a rock were Fumu, Kirby and Bun, all of them looking at - and what had been obvious before Fumu's comment - the demon beast.

Now that was interesting. How had they managed to escape? Certainly better someone had saved them or they had saved themselves than the alternative. Which would have been being crushed by falling rocks.

"Go, Dedede Stone! Let's punish them!" And again a demon beast with a ridiculous name. At least Meta Knight hadn't known this demon beast and couldn't have known the stone was one. Still he was taking pity on it, Bugzzy and Blocky certainly were not creative, but_ Dedede Stone_ was not a name he wished anyone.

The Dedede Stone started moving and Meta Knight hurried to get out of the way. He took shelter behind the same rock Fumu, Kirby and Bun did and he certainly surprised them with this action.

"Wha-"

"Just like you will certainly be, I am not too fond of the idea of being stepped on. And I do not think Dedede will care if his stone steps on me so better escape before he gets the idea to actually order that."

"Can't you just destroy that demon beast?"

"I could."

"Then why-" But Bun's and Meta Knight's conversation was interrupted by a surprised shout from Fumu.

"Is that Mister Curio?" And indeed the person Fumu pointed at was Curio. That was unexpected because Meta Knight had thought Curio was one of the more intelligent people in the village, but he did something stupid right now.

He was running to the Dedede Stone, pickaxe in hand, and it was obvious he intended to attack it. His attack was stopped by the simple fact that the Dedede Stone almost stepped onto him. But that wasn't even the actual reason Curio stopped, he stopped because there was dust in the air and it was hard for him to breath.

Curio didn't let himself be stopped completely, though. He raised the pickaxe and was about to attack when Fumu stopped him again.

"Mister Curio!" She came running in his direction, Kirby and Bun close behind, Meta Knight a good distance behind because he hadn't run off when the others had.

"Fumu..." Curio turned back to the Dedede Stone, but it took another step and made the whole ground tremble. Curio lost his balance and fell to the ground, but he wasn't the only one. Fumu also fell to the ground and Bun and Kirby, still far enough away to not be affected, ran past her and didn't realize the danger she was in.

They only noticed when it was already too late for them to save Fumu.

The Dedede Stone was about to step on Fumu and she could do absolutely nothing to escape that fate. But the fact she couldn't do anything didn't mean someone else couldn't.

Meta Knight wasn't too happy about having to save her life (_again_ he might add), but he wouldn't let her be killed. He wasn't that cruel and there would be absolutely nothing positive about Fumu's death. That view might be considered heartless (and really, it was), but there was nothing to gain from Fumu's death but sadness everywhere and he could live without that.

So he stopped the Dedede Stone's foot with his sword before it could reach Fumu. The problem with that was he couldn't move now. The Dedede Stone's weight forced him to use both hands to hold his weapon and it would be impossible for him to move away without being crushed. Fumu didn't help when she stared wide-eyed at him and didn't move away. That pissed Meta Knight even more.

"Sorry to cause you the inconvenience, but could you _please_ run away?" Fumu certainly noticed the sarcasm, but she didn't say anything to that. She was more focused on the second half (not only because Meta Knight had shouted that part) and actually did what he told her. Definitely not because Meta Knight had told her to do it, but rather because she saw the need to run away to keep living.

"Yes!" And only then did she run away, leaving Meta Knight to try and stay alive when that stupid thing tried to crush him. He would be able to bear it a while longer, but when he heard the others behind him _debating_ what to do he lost it.

"I don't care what you do, but do _something_! Now!" Shouting helped again and Fumu told Kirby to inhale the Dedede Stone. Only that was nothing Meta Knight was glad about. If Bugzzy had been too big to inhale certainly the Dedede Stone would also be.

Sadly Fumu didn't consider that and Kirby started inhaling, only to notice neither the Dedede Stone nor Meta Knight himself could be inhaled. Precious seconds were wasted and Meta Knight became more frustrated by the second.

Then Kirby stopped and Meta Knight hoped Fumu had realized that _no_, the Dedede Stone couldn't be inhaled and would tell Kirby to inhale something else, _anything_ else. But no such luck and instead she told him to try _again_.

"Do your best, Kirby!" Thus Kirby started inhaling _again_ and Meta Knight's frustration turned into anger because trying to inhale the Dedede Stone was absolutely useless and it was getting more and more difficult to hold the demon beast. When Dedede somewhere above him started laughing Meta Knight knew the demon beast would be destroyed, if possible by himself and in a way that left it in tiny fragments all over the place.

"This is my responsibility!" Now he couldn't see what Curio had done, of course, but a few seconds after that exclamation the Dedede Stone fell back and Meta Knight was free to move again.

Looking around he saw Kirby had transformed into Stone Kirby and he stood somewhere above the place where the Dedede Stone had landed, cheering.

"He did it!" Somewhere else were Fumu, Bun and Curio, also cheering. Dedede, now beside them and on the ground again, was not cheering, but he had a smirk on his face. He knew as well as Meta Knight that the fight wasn't over. That suited Meta Knight just fine, though.

Kirby meanwhile was threatened to be crushed by the Dedede Stone. He hadn't managed to escape and the demon beast had caught him, now squeezing him between its hands. That, however, prompted Meta Knight to interfere with the fight and save Kirby from serious harm.

"Sword Beam!" The attack did far less damage than Meta Knight would have liked (he would have liked the Dedede Stone to explode into a million pieces), but it was enough to free Kirby from its iron grip. It was hit on its right arm and though the attack did not cut right through it left some pretty deep scars. Not like the stone felt any pain, but it satisfied Meta Knight to see his attack had hit the target.

Kirby fell to the ground, but immediately got up again and faced the opponent. It now faced both Meta Knight and Kirby and though it was not that fast it had other qualities. Being able to make the ground tremble was one of those, but Meta Knight didn't particularly care for that. The fact it could destroy rocks with its punches was far more important and caused Meta Knight jump out of the way when the Dedede Stone aimed at him.

Kirby used the opportunity to tackle the demon beast (added weight due to the transformation into Stone Kirby certainly helped) and it slightly lost its balance, but didn't fall completely and only ran into the cliff. The response to Kirby's attack followed promptly and Meta Knight and Kirby hurried to escape the punches aimed at them.

Right after that Meta Knight's response followed with three Sword Beams, all of which left some pretty deep scars, but the Dedede Stone didn't seem to care that much. It just kept attacking and as Meta Knight had been the one to leave most damage he suffered from its attention.

Meta Knight dodged more punches, but he was more and more backed into a corner. When he finally hit the cliff with his back and also couldn't escape to his left or right Dedede was sure that would be Meta Knight's end.

"Go, Dedede Stone!" But Dedede hadn't considered Meta Knight possessed the ability to fly. It wasn't even that important as Meta Knight chose another way to escape, but he could have simply flown away.

Instead he waited until he was attacked and then jumped. The Dedede Stone's attack hit the cliff and Meta Knight landed atop its hand. From there he ran to its shoulder and fired another Sword Beam right into its face.

Meta Knight jumped off its shoulder right as Kirby tackled the demon beast from behind again, this time sending it crashing into the cliff, which sent rocks flying in every direction.

Unfortunately that was still not enough to kill the Dedede Stone and it stood again a few moments later.

"What does it take to kill that thing?" As expected Meta Knight got no answer. What he got was more punches aimed at Kirby and himself, all of them missing because their opponent was too slow.

But Meta Knight finally had enough. He doubted more Sword Beams would kill it and that left one other possibility - using Kirby's stone ability.

He left Kirby behind (hoping he wouldn't be caught) and went to the place where Fumu was.

"Fumu, where is the Warp Star?" He had realized he had actually never demanded to get it back. It was pointless anyway because it was Kirby's and he technically had no use for it.

"Eh... I left it with Kabu..." Fumu was clearly startled by his sudden appearance and almost whispered because Dedede was near and she didn't want him to hear what she said. That was unnecessary, however, because Dedede's focus was entirely on Kirby and the Dedede Stone.

"With Kabu? No matter, summon it."

"Summon it?"

"Just call 'Warp Star'." They already had that so Meta Knight had assumed she knew what to do. Obviously she did not, but at least she didn't question his order this time.

"Come, Warp Star!"

While he had been talking to Fumu Kirby had managed to get into trouble. The Dedede Stone had caught him again and was squeezing hard to crush him. Now Meta Knight could have saved him _again_, but he could also just wait for a few seconds and Kirby would be saved anyway.

The Warp Star came flying right at Kirby and hit the Dedede Stone's hand. It let go of Kirby and he fell down, but was saved by the Warp Star. Now it was easy for Kirby to evade any attacks, the Warp Star was simply too fast for the demon beast to follow.

Kirby was flying around his opponent for some time, but then decided it was enough. He flew high above its head and then transformed into a stone, just like the name 'Stone Kirby' suggested.

"Stone Kirby!"

The Dedede Stone didn't stand a chance after that. Kirby let himself fall from his Warp Star and crashed right through the Dedede Stone, from top to bottom. The demon beast cracked and shattered into pieces, zero chance of it ever returning.

"He did it!" Bun was cheering, along with Fumu. But then Curio urged them to leave as to not be hit by the falling debris. Meta Knight only followed after he was hit by two pieces. Dedede didn't even go away then.

"That damn Kirby destroyed my Dedede Stone!"

"Your Majesty! Please leave!" Waddle Doo had come back to Dedede some time during the fight, but Dedede wouldn't listen to him. In the end Waddle Doo left him alone, resulting in Dedede being half-buried in debris and Waddle Doo trying to free him.

Meta Knight watched from afar and couldn't help but feel amusement.

"That was to be expected when ignoring other people's advice all the time."

* * *

For everyone who didn't read it in my profile (and that will be almost everyone): I don't exactly have the time to write right now. I don't have time other than the weekends and even then I can't be sure I have the time. That will continue until at least April, maybe even May, so expect not more than one chapter per month, maybe not even that, though I do try to manage that at least.

Now to the chapter. So I'm back to using episodes, though you will (hopefully) have noticed there were some changes. The next chapters will all be based on some of the episodes, but, as I already stated in the first chapter, those will definitely not be in order.

A last thing because this chapter got really long. Was it too long? Then I will have to cut some things (though I would rather not) and things like the last scene would clearly suffer. Tell me what you think about that :)


	8. Sweet Dreams

I have a few things to tell at the end, but now only on thing:  
**Bold text** indicates shouting a question. As far as I know I can't use "?" and "!" right after each other, so I will go with this version. ;)

* * *

**8. ****Sweet Dreams**

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Why do you assume I have a special reason to be here?"

"If I am not mistaken you are still banned from the castle and I can't really see you taking the trouble to come here just to talk to me." Now Meta Knight was hurt (as if) because he had really entered the castle just to speak to Escargon.

He wasn't in the mood to speak to any of the villagers (actually he never really was), he certainly wouldn't play with Kirby and the other kids, he didn't want to walk around and he didn't want to talk to Fumu right now. That didn't leave many things to do and he hadn't talked to Escargon in a while, in fact he hadn't really talked to him since after Blocky's attack.

And in fact there were some things he wanted to ask. For example why exactly he hadn't been involved in that Dedede Stone business and Dedede had chosen to take Waddle Doo along. Meta Knight still thought Escargon would have been a far better choice.

"You hurt my feelings, Escargon." Escargon actually snorted at that, but seemed to accept Meta Knight really wanted to talk to him, though Meta Knight suspected he still thought there was something else behind that.

"Of course. Now, what exactly do you want?"

"To talk to you." That went pretty much like their first conversation and Meta Knight was tempted to use the same tactic again. Then again flattery only helped so much. He doubted Escargon would be that responsive to it again and he would have thought about their last conversation. The results were much awaited.

Escargon kept stubbornly silent and waited for Meta Knight to speak again. Now Meta Knight could have made that a staring contest, but he figured that would just be pointless.

"We have not talked to each other for quite a while already, so how have you been doing?" That was at least a starting point. He could continue from there.

"I'm fine. But can't you just cut the pleasantries and come to the point?" Wasn't that just rude? Here he was, trying to be nice and Escargon wouldn't play along. But two could play this game and Meta Knight wouldn't lose. Though for now Meta Knight would continue being nice, being... not so nice could still follow later.

"Now Escargon, do not be so rude. I am only trying to have a normal conversation with you." Maybe it was not the smartest idea to annoy Escargon if he wanted to know something from him, but Meta Knight didn't care right now.

"As if you are even able to have a normal conversation." And Escargon got just ruder by the minute. Maybe that was not exactly the best time to talk to him. "I have important duties around the castle so either you tell me what you want or you leave." Definitely not the best time to talk to him.

That left Meta Knight to wonder what he should do, of course. Annoying Escargon had been a success, though that was not exactly a good thing. So continue playing nice might not be the best idea. That left other tactics to use now.

"Important duties? Such as?" Now he was just being mean, but Escargon had started it and Meta Knight would gladly continue. "Dedede took along Waddle Doo for that Dedede Stone business. And where were you?" At least now he had asked the question he had wanted to ask. Never minding the fact Escargon would be more than annoyed now.

"Where-? I was in the castle!" By now Escargon even shouted. Not that loud that anyone outside would hear it, but he shouted nonetheless. Annoyed had turned into angry.

"Exactly." Change of tactic from Meta Knight again. Now he spoke calmly. So calm Escargon was speechless for a moment because he hadn't expected that.

"Wha-?"

"Why were you in the castle?" The calm tone continued and Escargon struggled to keep shouting, but in the end his tone became calmer as well.

"I... His Majesty didn't ask me to come along... I didn't know when he left the castle..." Now things became interesting. Dedede hadn't asked, because Waddle Doo was there when he wanted to go or because he didn't want Escargon to come along?

"Why do you think that is?" Asking that question was almost cruel.

Predictably there was silence and Meta Knight wasn't sure Escargon actually intended to answer the question. At least he made a thoughtful expression (Meta Knight would rather call it a pained expression, but he assumed Escargon was thinking). Then, after a few moments of silence, he answered.

"Because... you were right. Dedede is stupid. He isn't fit to be the ruler and I made it pretty obvious I think something like that." Meta Knight smirked behind his mask, sure of his victory. "But I also know him since forever and he is a... friend." Smirk gone.

Well, he should have expected something like that. Escargon had seemed slightly apathetic and had not always been on Dedede's side in an argument, but he hadn't completely defied him. That should have been a clue, but obviously he had neglected to consider that. Well, bother.

"Oh? A friend that orders you around all the time?" Last try, if he tried too hard that wouldn't end well.

"Yes." That was exactly the answer he didn't want to hear. Now this meant damage control.

"Ok. If you see it that way there is nothing I can do about that." How he hated it to say exactly those words, but it couldn't be helped. Either do something stupid as shouting at Escargon and make everything much worse, or take this way.

Escargon was silent again for some time, contemplating the whole situation. Meta Knight gave him the time, though only grudgingly. He would have to wait for Escargon to speak again.

"You know, you are perfectly able to have a normal conversation. In fact that conversation just now helped me a great deal." Meta Knight was tempted to snort, but that would not be well received. "I don't want to rule. His Majesty is far from perfect, but he managed to rule Dreamland for quite some time already and I don't even have the ambition to rule. He _is_ somewhat stupid, but he has his brilliant moments..." Meta Knight wouldn't call Dedede brilliant exactly, but there were times when he didn't seem quite as stupid.

And this was it, Escargon had made up his mind. That meant Meta Knight would have to use plan B and that really wasn't what he had wanted.

"So what do you plan to do now?"

"Continue as before, more or less. I don't like that he is trying to get rid of you so I won't help him with that. In fact I am inclined to help you and not him, in this regard at least." Maybe it wasn't a complete failure then.

"There aren't that many people here I can talk to about more complex things, so it would be stupid if I let someone kill you."

"I am glad you are so concerned about my well-being, Escargon." The sarcasm was obvious, but Escargon chose to ignore it and simply shrugged.

"Life would be boring with no one to talk to. By the way, Dedede has already planned something new..."

* * *

"Can you tell me about Kirby? What is that ability he has?" That was the reason why he didn't want to talk to Fumu. He knew she would ask questions again. She hadn't dared to ask that when she had asked about the Warp Star (with good reason) and so she did it now. Now the only question was if he should get rid of her and hope she didn't ask again (the chances for that were about zero percent) or tell her now. Sighing in annoyance Meta Knight decided to be done with it now.

"Kirby can inhale enemies and copy their abilities." There, now that had to be enough.

"So Stone Kirby..." Expectant silence and Meta Knight was tempted to just look at her until she actually finished that question. Of course he did just that and after a while Fumu became impatient.

"Meta Knight!" All too simple...

"Yes, Fumu?" He continued looking at her, hoping that maybe she would leave in a huff if he continued to not answer her. But she continued glaring at him and Meta Knight saw the need to remind her that she hadn't exactly asked a question.

"You have not asked me anything so I can not answer a question." That was not the answer she wanted to hear and her glare intensified to levels so high everyone else would have covered in fear. Meta Knight, however, was not impressed in the slightest.

"Fine! What's with that name? Stone Kirby?" That was at least a question, though not exactly the right one. This question left Meta Knight plenty of room to be unhelpful again.

"That is the name Kirby assumed after inhaling... I am not sure, rocks maybe? I did not see him inhale." Fumu had noticed her glare didn't affect Meta Knight and her expression had turned into a scowl. That also didn't affect Meta Knight.

"That's not what I meant! What happened after he inhaled?" And again that was not exactly the best question to ask Meta Knight. He was certainly amused by the way Fumu had started shouting at him.

"I already told you he copied the ability." Meta Knight smirked because he clearly saw Fumu was about to explode. "When Kirby inhales an enemy he copies said enemies ability and transforms. You already saw Sword Kirby and Stone Kirby, he copied the ability and used it for himself. There, wasn't that hard to notice, was it?"

He had answered Fumu's question, he had really annoyed her and he would pay for it. A good thing he didn't care then.

"Why are you so unhelpful? This is important knowledge and you don't bother to tell me!" She clearly overreacted, but she wouldn't listen anyway when he told her that.

"You saw what Kirby did so surely you came to a conclusion as to what happened." And with that Meta Knight turned around and left Fumu behind. She would be in a bad mood for a while now.

* * *

Fumu still wondered why she had agreed to watch TV with Kirby and Bun. Sure, it was already getting late and she couldn't go out and play with someone, but she could have done something else. Reading a book for example sounded much more appealing than watching Dedede make fun of Kirby.

But she had agreed and she wouldn't leave now. Kirby was Dedede's new victim and he made Kirby look pretty stupid in that show he called entertainment. Kirby, unfortunately, was laughing quite a bit even though Dedede stomped on what represented Kirby. Bun beside him did the same thing and Fumu wondered if they knew that wasn't only fun and Dedede would like nothing more than doing that to the real Kirby.

Dedede had not liked Kirby from the beginning, but since he had killed Bugzzy and later the Dedede Stone it had become even worse. Dedede himself didn't do a thing to Kirby, but his glares whenever he saw Kirby had intensified and he became the new victim in channel DDD's comedy show.

Meta Knight had had the nerve to actually laugh in her face when she had told him that she was slightly worried about that. She had shouted at him that he was heartless and he hadn't even bothered denying that. In fact he had laughed even louder and asked why she had only noticed that now.

That had been one of the times Fumu had wondered why she even bothered talking to Meta Knight. His mood was almost always bad now and he was far from nice, one reason why they didn't talk as much as they had done before. Still Fumu was the person he talked most to - by far.

So now she was watching with the laughing Kirby and Bun what Dedede had to say. And he did say something unexpected and still in the show he considered comedy.

"- Channel DDD is giving everyone these Dream Pillows as presents so they can sleep well! These are Healthy Dream Pillows developed by DDD Laboratories." DDD Laboratories? Well that was certainly new and Fumu seriously doubted those existed. Knowing Dedede Holy Nightmare was involved.

"Sleep on it at night and you'll feel refreshed. Even a fool like Kirby!" Typical. Dedede just had to make Kirby look stupid again.

"Poyo!" At least Kirby himself didn't seem to mind.

"These Dream Pillows would normally cost 2 million Deden, but for a limited time we'll give them to you for free!" If Fumu hadn't been suspicious before she would certainly be now. Dedede giving someone something for free? The chances for that were rather slim if Dedede didn't plan anything evil.

"There's nothing cheaper than free!"

"Oh I want one!"

"Poyo!"

But of course Kirby and Bun didn't see that. They were excited by the prospect of having those Dream Pillows that would make them feel 'refreshed' after sleeping on them. And her parents, watching as well, didn't see a problem either.

"By all means, let's get some!"

"It seems like it's good for beauty too."

She knew she had lost before she had even started an argument. There was no way her parents would listen to her when they thought it was a good idea. Grumbling in defeat Fumu saw no other way than to either sleep with one of those things without complaints or have a tantrum and accomplish nothing with that.

But first she would have to talk to someone about that. She dearly hoped she wouldn't regret talking to Meta Knight of all people, but there was no one else that would even realize the king was up to something.

* * *

Meta Knight was sure Fumu would regret talking to him very soon. He had no intention of helping her in any way and she would come to know that. He wondered why Fumu even bothered trying to talk to him. But thinking about it he saw that he actually was the only person she could talk to about that. That was just too bad for her.

"What brings you here, Fumu?" Now she could still say she was only here to bring Kirby home, but he doubted she would do that. He was perfectly capable of finding the way back on his own after all.

"Poy!" Kirby ran past him and sat down beside Tokkori, who had decided to watch channel DDD again. Meta Knight still didn't get why they thought those shows were funny. But both Tokkori and Kirby liked them and Meta Knight was perfectly able to ignore them. No use being annoyed.

"Bringing Kirby home." Meta Knight was almost surprised because she used that excuse, but she wasn't finished and Meta Knight didn't need to be surprised. "And what is Dedede up to? Giving out those suspicious pillows can't be good!"

"It is not my problem if he is stupid enough to give something away for free." Of course he knew Dedede planned something bad and he knew that Fumu knew that, but he wouldn't help her figure out what exactly Dedede planned. She would have to find out on her own because he simply wasn't in the mood to help her.

"But Dedede never gives something for free. He plans something with that!" Meta Knight wondered why she even bothered.

"Fumu, you can either do nothing and look what happens or you try to find out what exactly is going on. Good luck with that, by the way." Now she pouted because it was obvious Meta Knight wouldn't let himself be swayed to help her. She should have expected that.

"Can't you just be nice and help me with that?" And her begging helped nothing, in fact it did the exact opposite and he wanted to help her even less than before.

"No. Just think about it, Dedede gives those pillows to everyone. I agree he plans something, but it can not be that bad if he actually gives them to everyone." That was a lie, Meta Knight could imagine Dedede giving away dangerous things without problems. Fumu, however, actually believed what he said. Somewhat.

"So you want me to sleep on one of those things?" Her look was skeptical and with good reason. Who would do that if they knew something bad could happen?

"I don't care what you do, but I am interested to know what the purpose of those pillows is. But as they are 'Dream Pillows' I am pretty sure I know what they do." Fumu made a thoughtful expression and then nodded her head.

"They will cause dreams." Meta Knight refrained from applauding. "But dreams are not a bad thing." Now really, did she pretend to not get it or did she really not get it?

"What do you think when you hear the name Nightmare?" That should help her and indeed he saw she understood what he meant.

"So you say those pillows will cause nightmares?" Meta Knight didn't exactly answer the question, but it was clear what he thought when he laughed and spoke the next words.

"Sweet dreams, Fumu."

* * *

_"Argh!"_

_It was over and he knew it. He knew it even before the fighting had started and he had said as much. But he had been ignored and now they all were paying the price. _

_He was standing on a hill, looking down on the bloodbath below him. As much as he could while being attacked by demon beasts. There was no end to them and he had long since stopped counting how many he had already killed. _

_Screams of pain were echoing all around, screams of friend and foe, impossible to discern anymore. Countless were lying on the ground, already dead, with no hope to save them. Countless others screamed for someone to save them._

_The snakelike creature before him hissed and that was all the warning Meta Knight had before the next attack. His opponent shot forward, intent on piercing him with its poisonous fangs and killing him. _

_But Meta Knight dodged to the side and the demon beast hit a rock instead. It hissed with fury and tried to attack again, but Meta Knight blocked it with his sword and the blade dug deep into its flesh. _

_It hissed in pain and immediately tried to let go, but Meta Knight didn't let that happen. He pulled his weapon back and sent blood splashing to the ground. More pained hissing followed and his opponent tried to back away, but it was in vain. Meta Knight jumped forward and his weapon pierced his enemy. It fell to the ground dead. _

_But it was over. There was no denying it, the Galaxy Soldier Army had lost, overwhelmed by the sheer number of attacking enemies. Meta Knight could see everything from his hill and what he saw was the complete and utter destruction of their forces. _

_They had ignored his warning and had now paid the price. They were dead, gone, and who wasn't by now would be mercilessly killed by the remaining enemy forces. Time to go..._

Meta Knight actually laughed when he awakened. He laughed because he had dreamed about that when he had expected something far worse. If that was the nightmare _he_ got, the villagers would certainly be fine. Though Tokkori tossed and turned in his sleep.

He was sleeping on one of the pillows Dedede had given to everyone, as had Meta Knight moments ago, but unlike Meta Knight Tokkori was still asleep.

"Tokkori!" No reaction was all he got. Meta Knight frowned behind his mask and went to his side. "Tokkori!" Still no reaction. He would have to use force then. The pillow he had been sleeping on lay forgotten in his bed.

Meta Knight smacked Tokkori on the head, but when he still got no reaction his frown deepened. That was too bad for Tokkori. Meta Knight smacked him again, this time hard and he woke up.

"Ow!" He looked hectically around, eyes wide because of the sudden pain, but then his eyes suddenly went dull.

"Out with Kirby!" That explained what the pillows' purpose was, though it explained not why Meta Knight had dreamed something completely unrelated. He wondered if everyone else had had the same dream.

"Snap out of it." He hit Tokkori again, harder than necessary, and he was back to his normal, just as annoying self.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" Meta Knight received an angry glare, but he couldn't care less.

"Bringing you back to your senses."

"Bring-"

"Do you remember what happened?" Maybe he should have used another wording because it now implied Tokkori had had a serious blackout. Added to the fact he really didn't remember clearly Tokkori was sent into a panic.

"What? What happened? What did I do? What did _you_ do?" Meta Knight only scoffed at Tokkori's behavior.

"Why, you obviously couldn't handle a nightmare." That left Tokkori speechless because he hadn't expected that. "You weren't yourself after I woke you up. That is why I hit you." And still Tokkori didn't answer, thinking hard about something. "What did you dream about?"

Meta Knight already knew the answer or thought he knew it. He wasn't disappointed when Tokkori told him what he dreamed about.

"Kirby. I dreamed about Kirby when he fought that big bug." It was also a memory, of that Meta Knight was sure. So it was likely everyone was relieving a memory, if Tokkori was any indication a memory of Kirby.

Speaking of him, where was Kirby?

"Tokkori where is Kirby?" Tokkori looked around the house, searching for Kirby.

"I kicked him out when he wouldn't be quiet." He didn't sound apologetic in the least. Meta Knight couldn't understand why Kirby even let himself be kicked out or why he slept in the same bed as Tokkori for that matter. Then again he had been rather inconsequent himself when he hadn't kicked out Tokkori.

"What? You idiot!" Tokkori had not expected to be shouted at, that much was clear from his expression. And he wasn't thrilled to be shouted at, either.

"Don't shout at me!"

"You had a nightmare about Kirby! Now think, you slept on one of those pillows that everyone slept on!" Either Tokkori simply didn't get it or he didn't remember what he had said after Meta Knight had hit him for the first time.

"So what?"

"You said 'out with Kirby' when I woke you up! What do you think will happen when he comes across the villagers?"

"I don't remember saying that! And what could happen? They're all asleep anyway!" Shouting at each other was certainly no way to resolve their problem. But Meta Knight was well beyond caring and Tokkori really wouldn't listen to anything else.

"Didn't you listen to what I said to Fumu earlier? Those pillows cause nightmares, you obviously had one! You wanted to get rid of Kirby because of that, so what do you expect the others want?"

"How should I know what they want?" This answer was too much. Meta Knight finally exploded.

"Tokkori are you** stupid**? Did you even **listen** to a word I said? Do you-" But Meta Knight suddenly stopped when he heard what he had expected to hear.

"Out with Kirby!" The villagers had arrived and were saying those words over and over again, almost chanting. Now they already had had that situation (with Meta Knight's name instead of Kirby's), but Meta Knight wasn't exactly sure how to deal with it. Last time Fumu had somehow dealt with it.

"I-"

"Not now!" Meta Knight shut Tokkori up long before he could finish his sentence and went outside, hoping to get rid of them somehow. To his surprise even Dedede and Escargon were among the villagers, clutching a pillow to their chests just like everyone else.

All their eyes glowed with an eerie green light and their faces were completely expressionless. Their chanting continued and Meta Knight was sure none of them even comprehended what they were doing.

"Out with Kirby!"

One problem was that no one even knew where Kirby was. A problem that soon resolved itself because Kirby suddenly appeared out of the sky. And that quite literal.

After Tokkori had kicked him out he had apparently decided to stay outside - in Tokkori's old nest in the tree right beside the house. But the noise had woken him and he fell out of the tree and right before the villagers' feet. Meta Knight groaned inwardly. He had found Kirby, but everyone else had as well. It was obvious what would happen.

"Poyo?" While Kirby was still wondering what was happening everyone else had at least comprehended it was Kirby before them. Now their problem was what to do about that.

"That is Kirby!" And that was everything for a while. Kirby didn't understand the situation, Meta Knight didn't exactly know what to do and neither did the villagers. They all stared at Kirby for a few seconds and no one moved. Then someone decided to actually do something.

"Out with Kirby!" The whole crowd started to move in Kirby's direction, planning to do... something. Meta Knight was not sure what they would do, but if Kirby didn't start moving in the next few seconds he would find out. Of course Kirby didn't run away.

"Kirby run!" Only then did Kirby run away.

"He ran away..."

"Let's go after him." Meta Knight had expected them to run after him, but he was disappointed. They didn't even try to match Kirby's speed and simply walked after him. A really slow walk that is.

Kirby had disappeared long ago somewhere into the darkness of the night before the villagers were even far enough away to not be seen by Meta Knight any more. If Kirby didn't run into them they would never catch him. And that was the main reason Meta Knight wasn't worried and let the villagers be for now. He first had to think of a way to stop them.

"What was that about?" In his musing state he had completely forgotten about Tokkori, who still didn't understand the situation. He was sorely tempted to shut Tokkori up somehow. Instead he snapped at him.

"Use your brain and you will figure it out!" Meta Knight stormed past Tokkori into the house and angrily glared at the pillow he had been sleeping on. He picked it and the one Tokkori had been sleeping on up and went back outside.

There were certainly other ways to deal with the pillows, but Meta Knight chose the violent way. He threw them into the air, drew his sword and slashed them open.

Now he could have expected demon beasts to be involved, but to actually think he slept on one...

Two Noddies, small, round demon beasts with big eyes and no arms, wearing a sleeping cap with polka dots, were revealed, one of them bleeding because Meta Knight had cut its cheek when slashing the pillows. The bleeding one immediately scurried off, the other followed after Meta Knight mercilessly kicked it away.

"So those damn Noddies were the reason for everyone's nightmares." He really should have expected something like that. Though normally Nightmare was a little more direct with attacking his enemies. Then again nightmares certainly were Nightmare's style, the name said it all.

"Meta Knight!" He also should have expected that Fumu would appear sooner or later, after all she was the only one who knew the pillows would cause nightmares. Well, Dedede should have known and Escargon had told him he expected something like that, but _both_ of them were currently searching for Kirby with all the others.

Fumu was running in his direction, Bun, Lololo and Lalala close behind and all of them carrying a pillow. Fumu would have told them about the pillows and that they were the cause for nightmares.

"Meta Knight those pillows really caused nightmares and made everyone want to get rid of Kirby!" If they didn't know before they would know now.

"I am aware of that. Hand me those pillows." All four wordlessly obeyed when they arrived beside Meta Knight and stared wide-eyed at the Noddies that were exposed after Meta Knight slashed the pillows.

The Noddies themselves seemed unsure what to do and kept lying on the ground. That is until Meta Knight decided to approach them and threaten them with his weapon. All four hurried in direction of the forest, clearly terrified of Meta Knight and what he might do to them.

"What was that?" Bun voiced the question, but the others clearly wanted to know as well.

"That was another great plan of the king. Inside those pillows are demon beasts called Noddy. They caused the nightmares everyone had." The other four nodded in understanding, clearly they had arrived at a similar conclusion.

"Where's Kirby? We have to warn him the villagers might try to do something."

"I fear you are already too late for that." Meta Knight walked past them and went in the direction he had seen Kirby run into. He had wasted enough time and should really try to help him. Four alarmed people followed him.

"What do you mean?" Meta Knight thought it had been pretty obvious what he meant, but he might as well explain it to them. Fumu shouting at him because he ignored her was not something he wanted to deal with right now.

"They already found Kirby and he ran off to escape them."

"What?" In Meta Knight's opinion there was no need to shout that question and overreact like that, but Fumu didn't quite agree. "If that's the case why are you so calm about it?"

"They aren't trying that hard to get Kirby, he should be able to outrun them quite easily. It is not as if he will run to them and let them do something to him..." Meta Knight trailed off because it was _Kirby_ he was talking about. "On second thought it might be a good idea to hurry."

Meta Knight could have kicked himself for his stupidity. Kirby had only run away because Meta Knight had told him to, so what were the chances of him escaping from the villagers if they somehow managed to catch him?

Meta Knight sprinted off and left the others behind, who were unable to match his speed. He ran in direction of the village and soon found what he had feared to find: Kirby surrounded by the villagers on three sides, with his back to a house wall and not even thinking of escaping.

He looked around and smiled at them, completely ignoring the 'out with Kirby!'- chanting they did and seemed to have completely forgotten Meta Knight had ordered him to run away from them.

"Don't let him get away." They slowly closed in on Kirby, who still made no motion to escape. That was _just_ what Meta Knight needed.

He elbowed his way through the villagers and situated himself right before Kirby to shield him from any harm. Kirby's reaction to seeing Meta Knight was pure joy (Meta Knight couldn't imagine why), the villagers' reaction wasn't quite as positive.

They stopped and were at a loss at what to do. And Meta Knight wondered why those people had problems with demon beasts...

"What are you doing, everyone?" Perfect timing on Fumu's part at least because Meta Knight was sure she had more of an idea what to do.

"Out with Kirby." Or not. Her expression clearly stated helplessness and she had no idea what to do concerning the blank looks she was receiving. It was only slightly past midnight and the day had just started, but Meta Knight already had enough of it.

When Fumu and the others didn't say anything everyone turned back to look at Kirby or Meta Knight because he blocked their view. The first one to do something was Dedede, most likely because he had a weapon, and he swung his mallet at Meta Knight. He made sure Kirby was out of the way and then simply sidestepped the attack.

Dedede slightly lost his balance, but that didn't stop him from attacking almost immediately after missing with the first attack. Meta Knight had to jump back and the villagers parted to make room for him and Dedede. Kirby was forgotten by them and they all concentrated on Meta Knight instead.

"Fumu!" Meta Knight only shouted her name, but she understood and moved Kirby away from them. The villagers didn't even notice because they completely focused on Meta Knight's and Dedede's fight, all of them still clutching their pillows (even Dedede), and simply watched Dedede chase Meta Knight around.

The situation was ironic in so many ways it was almost painful. Meta Knight fighting against Dedede was not ironic, it was long overdue, but Dedede fighting for the villagers' interests and Meta Knight trying to hinder him certainly qualified as ironic. The same applied to the simple facts everyone now tried to get rid of their hero(es), Dedede was affected by his own plan and everyone was on Dedede's side now of all times. The day could only become better.

Dedede continued trying to hit Meta Knight with his mallet, without much success. Meta Knight only had to sidestep the imprecise attacks and wasn't in danger of being hit. Until Dedede did something Meta Knight had not expected because it was just so _absurd_.

Meta Knight had evaded another attack without problems because he had jumped back and was on the way to get closer to Dedede again when he actually threw the _pillow_ at Meta Knight. Meta Knight was too surprised to get away and he was hit right in the face.

Of course the pillow did no damage, but the distraction was enough for Dedede to land a hit. He landed a direct hit and Meta Knight (and the pillow) were sent flying a few meters. Meta Knight landed on his feet and the pillow that was the cause for the hit in the first place landed directly in front of him.

Meta Knight had really tried to not hurt anyone. He hadn't even drawn his weapon until now, but enough was enough. He would end this fight against Dedede with one attack.

He picked up the pillow from the ground with his left hand, drew his sword with the right and spread his wings. He would end this fight with so much speed Dedede wouldn't even see himself be hit before it was too late.

Meta Knight flapped his wings and threw the pillow back at Dedede, only to catch up with it halfway to Dedede and slash it open. The Noddy inside fell out, but Meta Knight didn't care. Before Dedede could even try to attack again Meta Knight had reached him, grabbed Dedede's shoulder with his left hand and threw him to the ground, sword at his throat.

"What is that?" Meta Knight didn't look up when the others began asking questions, but angrily stared down at Dedede. His eyes weren't glowing with that eerie green light anymore and he looked quite terrified up at Meta Knight.

Meta Knight didn't let go and the grip around his weapon even tightened some more. When the color drained from Dedede's face Meta Knight was sure his eyes had flashed red for a moment. How easy it would be to kill Dedede right now.

"Meta Knight!" He ignored Fumu's shout and kept his weapon at Dedede's throat, seriously debating if he could justify killing him. He narrowed his eyes and was sure they were flashing red again. He was about to bring his weapon down when another shout stopped him.

"Meta Knight, **what are you doing**?" He looked finally up and directly at Fumu and he was sure she had seen his red eyes for the fraction of a second. They were now back to their normal gold and Meta Knight finally released Dedede, but he was sure Fumu knew what he had been about to do, although he hadn't moved before she had stopped him. Dedede also knew.

Dedede hurried away, terrified by Meta Knight, and Fumu had much the same expression on her face. Now that would certainly be a problem.

"Was it inside the pillow?"

"It's bleeding!" Good thing everyone seemed to be back to normal after seeing the Noddy. That would have to suffice as a distraction.

"It is called Noddy. There is one in every pillow and they were the cause for your nightmares." Meta Knight didn't even turn around and kept staring at Fumu, who still looked quite afraid, but couldn't look away from him.

Then Meta Knight turned and couldn't see her expression anymore.

"Hand me those pillows, I will destroy them." Everyone complied without complaints and soon the last pillow was destroyed. The Noddies all stayed in place, several of them bleeding because Meta Knight was all but gentle when destroying the pillows. They looked angrily at him, but fled as soon as Meta Knight had destroyed the last pillow and took a threatening step in their direction. They ran in direction of the forest, just like the others before them had done.

"That could have been dangerous..." And that was the discovery of the day. Meta Knight _really_ had to get away.

He was already on the way to... somewhere else when he was stopped. Thankfully it wasn't Fumu, that was a conversation he didn't want to have. Ever if possible.

"What was that?"

"What do you mean?" Escargon had been the one to stop him, his expression grim. Now this would be another fun conversation.

"You wanted to kill Dedede, didn't you?" Escargon's expression told he was slightly disturbed when Meta Knight laughed.

"I wanted to kill him the moment I first met him. But I didn't do it, _yet_." Meta Knight emphasized the 'yet' on purpose and Escargon of course noticed. But it had not been an answer to Escargon's question.

They stared at each other for a few seconds and Meta Knight smirked when he looked at Escargon's expression. He was unsure what to do. Meta Knight abruptly turned around and walked away.

"Have a good day, Escargon." He _knew_ he would regret his actions one way or another.

* * *

Surprise, surprise... Now who did expect something like this happening in this chapter? ;)

And surprisingly I had the time to write, but don't always expect that. I will just update when I'm finished so ignore the "not more than one chapter per month" I told you about last chapter. I simply don't know.

Maybe someone will notice I hint at the future in this chapter, though I admit it's not easy to see... Maybe you will notice when I post the next chapters. ;)

And one thing I just have to mention is the fact I had a conversation about the use of irony in a story. Certainly one reason why I mention the irony at one point in this chapter. ;)


	9. Dynablade's Attack

**9. Dynab****lade's Attack**

_"Damn!" That really just wasn't his day, but at least it couldn't possibly be any worse.__.. He was proven wrong only a few moments later._

* * *

Fumu was not exactly sure what she wanted to do. Shout at Meta Knight or never speak to him again because she was seriously frightened of him right now. She was positive she had almost been the only one to see what Meta Knight had been about to do, except for Dedede that is. Well, Escargon also seemed to know something, but she hadn't spoken to him.

Everyone else was blissfully unaware of what had almost happened and Fumu envied all of them. But what could she do about the whole situation? She knew Meta Knight had almost killed Dedede, he could deny it all he wanted, but she was absolutely sure of it.

And there was that alarming fact about his eyes. She had seen them turn green in the past, though she wasn't exactly sure what that meant. But now they had turned red for a moment and she was sure that was not a good sign. In fact she had been downright terrified at that moment. And she still wasn't too sure about Meta Knight right now.

She had been excited when she first met him, not only was he from somewhere else and a Star Warrior, but he was also intelligent, something she could look for all she wanted here and would still find not many people that qualified for that. She admitted he wasn't that nice even then and had already tried to irritate her, but still she could talk to him.

Now, however, she wasn't only afraid to talk to him, but he wouldn't really talk to her. He was unhelpful and constantly angry and she didn't know why. It had been like that since Kirby had appeared and Bugzzy had smashed him into a rock, but Fumu had assumed his bad mood would disappear over time. Instead his mood had been worse than ever when she had last spoken to him.

And then something had obviously snapped. Dedede had really pushed his luck and should have known Meta Knight would strike back sooner or later, but Fumu had never expected Meta Knight to react like that. He had attacked Dedede and Fumu couldn't even fault him for that, but when he hadn't moved his weapon away, Fumu knew what he had been about to do. He hadn't moved an inch before he had looked up, but when Fumu saw his eyes she just knew what his thoughts had been.

Almost a week had passed since then and Meta Knight had disappeared. He had simply vanished without a trace and no one knew where he was. Kirby had been really sad at his disappearance and even the villagers were worried about him. Blissfully unaware...

Fumu didn't know if she should be glad about his disappearance or not. Like that she had no chance to talk to him, but that might even be a good thing. She didn't think Meta Knight would answer her anyway and she wasn't too sure how he would react if she demanded answers.

Maybe it was a good thing he had disappeared...

... or not. Fumu was almost sure Meta Knight would have found a way to deal with _this _situation, even if it was with force and violence. She really couldn't make up her mind, but considering Kirby was chased by a huge legendary bird and there was no help in sight even Meta Knight would do...

* * *

Meta Knight had to admit he had had better ideas in his life. But he was not too fond of the idea of speaking with Fumu or Escargon or of having to deal with Dedede any time soon. Disappearing might be considered cowardly by some, but Meta Knight reasoned he would have left anyway. And that wasn't even a lie, he really would have left.

Enough was finally enough and he couldn't take that village any more. That didn't mean he wouldn't return, in fact he planned to do that soon, but he had needed to take a break from all that. Kirby would be more than capable of handling any demon beasts that would appear and, as Dedede would be slightly shaken by that last incident, there even was the possibility no demon beast had appeared.

So the last few days Meta Knight had taken the opportunity and walked around Dreamland and the whole of Pop Star. Of course he hadn't managed to go everywhere, not even close, and the last two days he had been close to the village again. Currently he was inside the jungles of Bababagahara and he had to say that had been a stupid idea.

He had heard the villagers speak about it, had heard their fearful warnings never to go in there because no one had ever returned alive. He planned to return and alive at that, though he had to admit the wilderness tried really hard to kill him and he could understand why no one had returned alive before.

Until now three plants had tried to eat him. _Plants_. That lifeless things that normally were the ones eaten. But no, those plants had shown their fangs and tried to catch him. He had simply evaded the first two attacks, but when the third plant attacked his frustration finally won.

There was a possibility the first two would attack the next creature that came across them, the third, however, wouldn't be able to do that. When that one had actually managed to catch him off guard it was doomed. Meta Knight had made short work of it and four Sword Beams later (one would have been more than enough) its final screams could be heard throughout the jungle.

Meta Knight briefly wondered how a _plant_ was able to scream, but then remembered that said screaming plant had tried to eat him only moments ago. The creatures here certainly were strange, but at least none of them tried to talk to him and demanded answers he didn't want to give. Those things were certainly annoying, but he preferred their company to that of others right now.

He continued to walk aimlessly through the jungle and was pleased to notice nothing attacked him. Maybe those things were afraid of him now or there were simply none in this part of the jungle, but he was left in peace. Or so he thought.

* * *

"What was that?"

Whatever it was had just now destroyed parts of the village.

"Everything's destroyed!"

"Why did something like that happen?"

No one had an answer to that and even Fumu could only watch helplessly at all the destruction before her eyes. She was standing beside Honey, who also didn't have an idea what had happened.

"I really wonder what happened..."

"I don't know." Exchanges like that between Fumu and Honey could be heard between more of the villagers. No one had the faintest idea of what had happened.

"Sis!" Bun suddenly appeared from behind them, startling both Fumu and Honey. They had been completely immersed in the scene before them and not noticed Bun was approaching.

"Meta Knight's and Kirby's house was blown away, too!" Why did he have to mention Meta Knight's name? Fumu was not in the mood to talk about him right now, not even to think about him. But it was Kirby's house as well and she cared about him.

"Oh no!" But Kirby himself seemed to care very little about that or didn't even know. While Tokkori loudly complained to everyone within earshot, Kirby wasn't even there and no one had seen him for quite some time.

But right now there were other things to wonder about.

"What is that?" Bun had pointed out another thing to Fumu and Honey, this time something completely different. Bun approached the thing lying on the ground and made to touch it, but suddenly pulled back.

"Whoa!" Fumu, now close enough to take a good look, certainly saw why Bun had pulled back. Whatever it was, it looked like a giant knife and would certainly cause injuries if touched carelessly.

"That looks dangerous..." The others now approaching had the same opinion. None of them came close enough to touch it, but all of them circled around it and curiously looked at it. Until a shout of disbelief made them turn around and get out of the way of an overjoyed Curio.

"Th-th-this is the feather of Dynablade, said to awaken once every hundred years!"

"Dynablade?" Fumu and Bun spoke their question at the same time, confusion clearly written across their faces.

Curio surprised them with what he did next; he pulled an old-looking book out off the bag he carried with him, just as if he had known he would have to explain who Dynablade was. He opened the book and turned some pages until he reached the one he had been looking for and then read out loud what was written on it.

"It's written in this old document. Since ancient times an enormous bird has lived here in Dreamland. This bird is Dynablade, with wings of metal, a sharp beak, claws like knifes and the ability to fly faster than sound. Once every hundred years this terrifying bird awakens to lay an egg and when she has raised the chick, Dynablade returns to her long sleep.

Dynablade has slept hundreds of times already. The last time she awoke was when new settlers immigrated to Dreamland during the time of pioneering and since then exactly a hundred years have passed."

"Dynablade awakened..." Bun and Honey looked exactly like Fumu felt, awed.

"This is also the first time I've seen a real feather." Curio looked thoughtful at the feather and just wanted to say something else, when there was another shout.

"It's terrible!" Three of the kids had appeared, their looks concerned for whatever reason.

"The fields, they are ruined!"

And indeed a few minutes later everyone saw that they were correct. What had once been a watermelon field was now only an empty field because there were hardly any watermelons left.

"Who did this?"

"I'm sure it was Kirby!" Fumu could hear Bun trying to defend Kirby, but Kirby himself made his appearance just then. And what he did, didn't exactly help in his defense. He completely ignored the villagers, took a watermelon and swallowed it. Whole.

Everyone watched stunned until Kirby took the second watermelon. He was about to swallow it, when the field's owner had enough. "It was Kirby like I thought! Give our watermelons back!"

Only then did Kirby notice other people were there. He still ate the watermelon, but when the crowd was storming at him, he saw the need to run away.

"Come back here!"

Kirby was much faster than any of them, though Fumu couldn't be sure he would really escape them. She had stayed back with Bun because she knew it was no use to follow Kirby anyway, but she didn't feel good about it.

"Ah Kirby..." She sighed in annoyance. Couldn't something good happen for once?

* * *

The fact someone had thrown stones at him should have made him wonder _why_ someone did that and most notably _who_ did that. He had consequently ignored those facts and assumed it was just another plant. And that was just stupid. After he had walked into the trap he even wondered why plants would throw stones, they seemed fine with attacking with their fangs. Why and how _Noddies_ threw stones was another thing altogether.

The fact remained they did and Meta Knight loathed to admit it, but he had been surprised by that. But the worst thing was the stones had not been the only thing that surprised him. As surprisingly as it sounded they had set a trap and he had walked right into it.

When he had realized just who threw stones there was no stopping him, he dodged all of them and had almost reached the Noddy throwing at him. Then he fell. Obviously the Noddies had planned their revenge some more than Meta Knight had given them credit for. But who would have thought they were able to dig a pitfall?

Meta Knight certainly hadn't thought that and he growled in anger and frustration at the fact he had really fallen for that. Above him three Noddies were looking down at him, all of them slightly injured and Meta Knight was sure that he had caused those injuries when he had destroyed the pillows.

That explained why they had angry expressions on their faces at least and why they had decided to set a trap. The only thing Meta Knight wondered about now was why they hadn't fallen asleep until now. It seemed like their desire for revenge was far stronger than their need for sleep right now.

"Happy now?" Predictably Meta Knight got no answer but only kept getting hard stares. They really were angry at him and in Meta Knight's opinion that was just annoying.

At least he would have no problem getting out of this hole again as opposed to certain other people. The Noddies seemed to realize that as well because as soon as Meta Knight spread his wings they hurried away.

But 'spread his wings' wasn't exactly right because the hole was small enough to hinder him quite a bit with that. He managed to use his wings and get out, but not without smashing into the wall on either side. And that didn't improve his mood.

His eyes tinted red and his searching gaze swept over his surroundings after he turned his wings back into the cape. When he found those Noddies they would pay. Unfortunately they were nowhere to be found because they had used the opportunity and had disappeared. Now there was a decision to be made: keep searching or ignore them? Keep searching turned out to be the wrong choice.

Of course Meta Knight kept searching, but he couldn't help but notice that was exactly what his opponents had expected. And they were far smarter than he had expected. The next trap was already set and Meta Knight rushed right into it - or almost because he was fast enough to escape the tree that was almost falling onto him.

They were seriously trying to kill him now and Meta Knight couldn't help but feel respect for the fact they were trying that. He would kill them all, but he still felt respect. Holy Nightmare had sent them and they had to know who he was, but they were trying anyway. They were either brave, arrogant or really stupid. And they were still Noddies, who normally slept the whole time.

He got a glimpse of one of his attackers and promptly followed. And again that had not been a smart idea. Of course they had prepared more and Meta Knight seriously wondered how he could be that stupid. He had seriously underestimated them and in fact still did.

So it came as no surprise when in the end Meta Knight ran into a tree. It was a mystery to Meta Knight how they had accomplished that, but he really should have known something like this would happen.

"Damn!" That really just wasn't his day, but at least it couldn't possibly be any worse... He was proven wrong only a few moments later.

Again he should have known something like this would happen, it just fit right in with the rest of the day. But by now he was almost blind with rage and didn't even realize what was happening until it was too late.

With blazing red eyes Meta Knight spread his bat-like wings again and took of into the sky. But he didn't get too far because fate really seemed to hate him today. It was as if the Noddies had known he would do exactly that because not five seconds later he found himself falling down again - caught in a net.

And if _that_ didn't happen to be bad enough there was more. He unfortunately found himself right above the cliff he had been walking to earlier. He could have managed to fall only a few meters, that would certainly have hurt, but he would not have taken any serious damage. That cliff, however, complicated things and there were a few extra meters to the ground. Quite a few in fact.

Meta Knight struggled inside the net and even got a hold of his sword and was able to cut the net. But the force of gravity and the distance to the ground were not on his side. He wasn't even able to free himself completely from the net, but only managed to flap his wings once.

Then he hit the ground.

* * *

Obviously someone really hated her. She had hoped for something good, but instead the situation was becoming worse and worse. She assumed Kirby had managed to escape everyone after they had chased him because he had eaten the watermelons. But he had apparently done something again and now he was chased by something else altogether. Something far more dangerous.

When Fumu had seen Kirby running in direction of the village she hadn't thought of anything bad. That was until she saw why Kirby was running.

An enormous bird was chasing him and Fumu could only conclude it was Dynablade. Wings of metal, a sharp beak and claws like knifes certainly fit, the ability to fly faster than sound not so much right now, but the destruction Dynablade had caused earlier without anyone actually seeing her convinced Fumu that yes, Dynablade was able to fly faster than sound.

Although Dynablade chased Kirby and had a murderous expression on her face, she was really an imposing being if one only considered what she looked like. The feathers on her chest were white, just like those on top of her wings. Her head was covered in red feathers with a yellow Mohawk. The underside of her wings was covered in rainbow-colored feathers and she wore some sort of red armor with a blue stone in its center.

In Fumu's opinion Dynablade was actually a pretty kind of bird, but the fact she was destroying the village _again_ right now to hit Kirby didn't exactly make her like Dynablade. In fact she wondered what Kirby had done to anger her.

Kirby ran right through the village, not bothering to stop even once (a good thing for sure) and disappeared just as sudden as he had appeared. He left destruction in his wake or, to be correct, Dynablade did. There was quite a bit of confusion because of that.

"What exactly happened right now?" All people that had seen Kirby run away wondered about that, but Fumu had other concerns.

"Come along, Bun!"

"Yeah!"

He didn't question her and followed her out of the village, right after Kirby. It didn't take them long to see where Kirby had been, the trees scattered randomly around all over the ground were a good indication.

"Why do you think that thing is chasing Kirby?" Normally Fumu would have scolded Bun because 'that thing' had a name, Dynablade. But now her thoughts were elsewhere, namely with Kirby and wondering what he had done to Dynablade to make her that angry at him.

"I don't know..." Fumu felt helpless because she really had no idea. But then she saw someone who she suspected might have an idea. In the distance she saw Dedede's tank under one of the trees that had miraculously survived Dynablade's attack. Without a word she started running in that direction and Bun followed her.

When she came closer she could see and hear Dedede was shouting at Escargon, who gestured weakly in an attempt to defend himself.

" - good idea! We might actually get rid of Kirby like that!"

"But the village is also getting destroyed. And it was really cruel of you making Kirby do that." That answered the question if Dedede and Escargon knew what was going on. Obviously they had made Kirby do something to Dynablade.

"_What_ did you make Kirby do?" Startled Dedede and Escargon turned in Fumu's direction. Escargon looked guilty and even apologetic, while Dedede smirked at her and didn't bother to hide his glee.

"We didn't make Kirby do anythin'. He did it of his own free will." Dedede continued to smirk and Fumu couldn't shake the feeling of dread. When Dedede didn't give any more answers she turned her questioning look at Escargon. He squirmed a little under her gaze, but then decided to just tell her.

"Kirby ate Dynablade's egg."

"**What**?" Escargon winced at the volume her voice had reached and he wasn't the only one, Bun also had. Dedede, however, had started laughing. For now his plan was going well and he was sure Kirby wouldn't stand a chance against the legendary bird. And best of all Meta Knight wasn't in sight, although Dedede doubted he would stand more of a chance against Dynablade than Kirby did.

"Kirby ate her egg." Escargon was sure Fumu had understood him just fine the first time, but when she continued to stare incredulously at him he decided it might be a good idea to tell her again. It seemed to help because now she narrowed her eyes at Dedede, who had stopped laughing by now.

"How could you make him do something like that?" She didn't shout anymore, but everyone knew she didn't just ask for an answer, she demanded it. And Dedede was all too happy to give it to her.

"Wasn't too hard. Just gave him a push in the right direction and he ate it all by himself." That didn't exactly answer the question, but now Escargon _and_ Dedede had told her the same thing and there was absolutely no denying it. Kirby had really eaten Dynablade's egg.

"Oh Kirby..."

"Sis..."

Fumu stood frozen on the spot, completely ignoring everything around her. It had to be a lie! But both Dedede and Escargon had told her the same thing and there was no way they would make something like that up. Dedede would, but Escargon really looked guilty and he wouldn't do that if it was only a lie.

So Kirby had really eaten the egg. But there had to be a way too calm Dynablade down! Even as she thought that, Fumu knew it was ridiculous. There was no way Dynablade would calm down, Kirby had killed her chick and she wouldn't forgive him either.

But Kirby couldn't fight her, that would only make things worse. And Fumu didn't think Kirby stood a chance against her, either, Dynablade was doing her best to get him right now and if Kirby tried to fight her he would only get hurt, or worse even die.

"Sis!"

Fumu came back to awareness after she had spaced out and looked startled at Bun. Apparently he had tried to get her attention for a while already, but she hadn't even noticed. But instead of talking to her he pointed in direction of the village. Perplexed she turned around and saw Kirby running away from Dynablade. How could she have not noticed this?

"Let's see what happens!" Fumu and Bun hurried out of the way when Dedede made Escargon drive the tank in direction of the village. They looked at each other and then followed them.

"Kirby..."

* * *

_"Kirby, I have to go."_

_"Poyo?" Meta Knight got a long, curious look from Kirby and he couldn't fault him for that. He had mentioned something like that in the past, but telling Kirby now was rather sudden. But the situation called for it._

_"I have no choice. There is no other way." Protest followed promptly and Meta Knight had expected it. But he wouldn't let himself be swayed, couldn't let himself be swayed._

_"Poyo p__oy!" Kirby waved his arms around, frantically gesturing in his protest. It was no use._

_"Kirby, no. There is absolutely no other way and I have to leave - right now." He was in danger even now and endangered himself all the more the longer he waited. He just couldn't leave without telling Kirby._

_He had decided to switch tactic and instead of gesturing frantically now had stopped moving and looked at Meta Knight with big teary eyes. That would certainly be more effective than his gesturing, but Meta Knight prided himself with the fact he could be absolutely heartless. Right now was one of the times he was._

_"Don't look at me like this. You know I can not stay and I have to leave. Be glad I even told you before I left." That last sentence might have been heartless again, but his time was running out and he had to get away. He couldn't let himself be stopped by Kirby any longer._

_He had just decided to turn around and leave when Kirby stopped him._

_"Poyo!" Meta Knight was about to snap at him and then leave, but Kirby came running in his direction and put something into his hand. Startled he looked down and saw what it was._

_"This__ is... the Warp Star." Kirby nodded his head and made no motion to take it back. _

_"Are you sure you want to give this to me? Nightmare will -" But he had no time to finish his sentence because he could hear some other demon beasts in the distance. He couldn't be sure why they were here, but he wouldn't try to find out._

_He turned and hurried away, but stopped and took one last look at Kirby. "We will meet again." Then he left for good._

Another memory...

That was the first thing Meta Knight thought of when he regained consciousness. The second thing was that he was fortunate he wasn't seriously injured or dead. The fact he had managed to use his wings before he had reached the ground had certainly been a good thing.

He kept lying on the ground, wondering why exactly something like that had happened to him. He could understand the Noddies' desire for revenge, but that didn't explain how he had fallen for all their simple tricks. He felt anger at himself and his enemies when he thought of that.

By the time he had decided to get up he had also decided to leave this jungle. Today nothing went right and he assumed he wouldn't have much luck with the Noddies if he tried again, either. His revenge on the Noddies, who wanted revenge on him, could wait. Not for long, but it could wait.

The only problem now was finding his way back outside.

Looking around he saw the cliff he had fallen off earlier and he saw trees. Many trees, but considering he was inside a jungle that was not surprising. Even more unsurprising was that all those trees looked the same to Meta Knight. He frowned behind his mask; this could pose a problem.

* * *

Choosing the village as battle field had some obvious disadvantages. The fact the village was destroyed for the third time now today was only one of them, endangering the villagers another. And those were only the obvious ones. The fact the village provided some cover for Kirby could be seen as an advantage for him, but in Fumu's opinion the disadvantages clearly outweighed this one advantage.

Also Kirby's cover was pretty much blown away by Dynablade anyway, so that left not much of an advantage for him.

In fact it left no advantage at all and when Fumu and Bun arrived in the village Kirby was pretty much losing to Dynablade because he had no way of fighting back. He kept running around, trying to escape Dynablade's vicious attacks.

From what Fumu could tell Kirby wasn't hit by Dynablade and also managed to stay clear of all flying pieces of debris her attacks caused. He wouldn't win this way, but he also wouldn't be killed.

But again Fumu got the feeling someone really hated her. Not five seconds after she had thought that, Dynablade got Kirby with her sharp beak and took off with him into the sky and high above the village.

"Kirby!"

But it was no use, Kirby wouldn't even be able to hear her anymore.

Dynablade had stopped her ascent, now a barely visible shadow against the sun. Then she sped towards the ground again with almost impossible speed. The ground came closer and closer and Fumu was sure Dynablade would crash.

But Dynablade had other plans. She pulled up at the last possible moment, Kirby still in her beak. More houses got destroyed because of the air pressure, collapsing like houses of cards, and several villagers shielded their faces against the dust Dynablade had raised.

"How terrible..."

Fumu had been a little distracted by the fact that Dynablade was causing more destruction and flying around with Kirby and thus was surprised at the new voice beside her. Whirling around in the voice's direction she could see Coo the owl right beside her.

"Coo!"

Coo looked briefly at Fumu and then looked back at what Dynablade did again. "What did he do?"

Fumu briefly hesitated. "Escargon said Kirby ate Dynablade's egg..."

Coo looked back at Fumu. "That explains everything. I-"

"Please ask Dynablade if she can forgive him!" Coo took a look of several seconds at Bun' s face after his outburst, doubtful.

"But Kirby ate her chick... I wouldn't forgive him, either!"

Fumu and Bun's faces fell, their last hope had just been destroyed. But when they heard a crash they focused their attention back on Dynablade.

Dynablade had repeated her earlier action of speeding to the ground and pulling up right before she hit it. This time, however, she had released her hold on Kirby and he had crashed into the debris on the ground. The only good things about that were that she had pulled up and after that released him and that Kirby was now free to move again - if he got up.

Kirby kept lying on the ground for a few seconds and Fumu was about to panic and run to him. But then Kirby slowly got up and looked around groggily. Considering he had crashed into the debris he also looked surprisingly well; except for some scratches he looked fine.

But if Dynablade had a say in the matter that wouldn't stay this way. Before Kirby had the chance to escape her again she had grabbed him with her talon.

Now Kirby was in serious danger, Dynablade had made it perfectly clear she would hurt him and Fumu was desperately thinking of a way to help Kirby. But there was no way she could help him herself, unless...

The Warp Star! Meta Knight hadn't exactly been forthcoming when he had told her about it, but she had been able to summon it in the past. It was worth a try and she didn't have any other options anyway.

"Come, Warp Star!"

It didn't come. It didn't come and Fumu had no idea what else to do.

"Epic fail I'd say!" And some distance away Dedede was laughing at her. But Fumu had despaired too soon and Dedede had laughed too soon for the Warp Star did appear.

Fumu, distracted by the fact that Dedede had laughed at her, had not seen what Kirby had done. But when she looked back up Kirby was falling down to the ground. Fumu held her breath, but the Warp Star finally appeared and Kirby landed right on top of it. Fumu breathed again and Dedede's laughter died.

"Go, Kirby!"

Kirby wouldn't be able to hear Bun's encouragement, he was much too far away for that. He seemed to take it to heart nonetheless. Instead of running from Dynablade he now attacked her - at least he tried.

He jumped at Dynablade, but bounced off her armor. Kirby tried again and again, but of course it was no use. And Dynablade wouldn't let herself be attacked like that anymore. She tried to hit him with her wing, but missed because he retreated with his Warp Star.

This game continued for a while, with Kirby being unable to do any damage to Dynablade and Dynablade being unable to hit Kirby. But in their seemingly endless repetition Dynablade soon grew annoyed and changed her way of attacking.

Kirby had circled Dynablade, searching for a weak spot and finding none. Dynablade in turn had watched his actions carefully when she had been able to. And she used the first chance to lunge at Kirby with her beak.

Kirby was caught completely off-guard. He himself managed to just get away from her attack in time. The Warp Star, unfortunately, did not and when Dynablade hit it, Kirby got thrown off.

"Kirby!"

Again Kirby fell and again he was saved by the Warp Star, this time only a few meters from the ground and far too close to anyone's liking. The worst thing yet was that Dynablade had followed him and didn't waste any time attacking again.

Obviously Dynablade had miscalculated the distance to the ground, though. Fumu didn't know if it was the Warp Star or Kirby himself, but he flew away before Dynablade could reach him. Dynablade, unable to pull up again because Kirby had been fairly close to the ground, landed with a deafening crash on the ground.

The almost storm Dynablade had caused anyway, along with her crash were enough to sent everyone close enough flying, including Fumu, Bun and Coo. They found themselves several meters away on the ground again. And to make Fumu's day just perfect something else happened.

She had been positive before that someone or something hated her and tried its best to make her whole day miserable. Now she was a little torn. Was what happened a good thing or was everything now doomed?

"Obviously you had fun in my absence."

But she could really have done without that comment.

* * *

Getting out of Bababagahara had admittedly not been hard at all. If one had wings things like that became incredibly easy. But if one considered that, it was also incredible that Meta Knight had needed a few hours to get out again.

Granted, that was because he hadn't used his wings at first, but he couldn't help the feeling that he took the whole affair a little to the extreme now. He had searched for the Noddies that had ambushed him earlier and that had taken quite some time.

He had decided not to attack them and leave the jungle, but he had been a little inconsequent with that decision in the end. Instead of leaving right away he had searched for them, found them and had left then.

Now at least he knew where they were and knew where he had to go.

After he had flown out of the jungle he had expected to find the same dull village he had left a week ago. What he found were chaos and destruction and he had to admit he should actually have expected _something_ to happen. At least he wasn't the only one with a really bad day.

"Obviously you had fun in my absence." Not the smartest thing to say to Fumu of all people. She sent him her best glare when she saw him standing on some of the debris and Meta Knight couldn't say he was impressed with it, but he had somehow almost missed it... not. Thankfully Fumu wasn't the first to comment on his sudden appearance.

"Meta Knight!" Bun was the first to comment.

"Meta Knight-" And Fumu was ignored. Instead Meta Knight chose to say something himself.

"Considering the destruction all around us and this bird-" he indicated Dynablade, who had managed to get up again and was chasing Kirby, "chases Kirby I assume it was the cause of all this?"

"Yeah, that's Dynablade. Escargon said Kirby ate her egg." That, of course, explained everything.

"Let me guess: Kirby is just running away?"

"Well... He tried to attack, but it was no use..."

Meta Knight had completely ignored Fumu and she wasn't happy with that. She couldn't stand it if he ignored her.

"You do something! Help him!" Meta Knight took a look of several seconds at Fumu (Dynablade's ominous screeching in the background was unmistakable) and then turned away from her.

"Only because you asked me nicely."

Before Fumu could retort anything, Meta Knight had spread his wings and took off into the sky and after Dynablade and Kirby. He didn't need long to catch up to them because by now Kirby was effectively flying circles around his opponent and they had reached something like a stalemate again; Kirby unable to do damage and Dynablade unable to land a hit.

Meta Knight would land a hit and he would do damage.

Before they had even realized Meta Knight was there he had already attacked. He had drawn his sword and pointed it straight ahead at Dynablade. Then he drilled forward with his sword, his whole body spinning around, and Dynablade could do nothing to escape.

She had turned in his direction shortly before impact, causing Meta Knight to hit the armor around her chest. The attack caused a terrible screeching noise as the sword drilled into the armor and sent sparks flying.

Dynablade seemed frozen for a moment, but then remembered to defend herself. She brought her right wing down on Meta Knight and his attack was forcibly ended.

The force of the hit sent Meta Knight spiraling down a few meters and he almost lost the grip on his sword, but managed to recover. He didn't have much time for that, though, because after his attack Dynablade had decided to attack him now instead of Kirby.

Meta Knight dived to the ground, Dynablade behind him in pursuit.

Just like Fumu before him, Meta Knight also thought the village was not exactly the best place for a battle such as this one. But if they fought here he would make use of it.

Dynablade was far enough away so Meta Knight landed on some pieces of debris (rather roughly because there _was_ an enormous bird chasing him), but jumped away to the ground when Dynablade was about to hit him. She missed him completely, but hit the debris with her wing and as a result crashed to the ground again. Only more debris finally stopped her skidding and she kept lying on the ground for a moment, clearly disoriented.

"Kirby, when I use Drill Rush again, inhale the sparks." Kirby had followed them and was now hovering on his Warp Star beside Meta Knight.

Before Kirby could answer, however, Meta Knight rushed forward and repeated his earlier action of spinning around and drilling his sword into Dynablade's armor. Still on the ground she had no chance to escape in time and again Meta Knight's attack sent sparks flying.

Kirby obeyed Meta Knight and inhaled the sparks and before Dynablade could try to stop him, Meta Knight had stopped his attack himself and retreated back to Kirby.

He transformed and his skin turned green. On his head now was a blue orb in a circlet and he emitted sparks all around himself.

"Those were not electrical sparks, so how did you become Spark Kirby?"

"Poyo?" Kirby could only blink in confusion at that question, no idea why it was the Spark ability and why it even mattered.

"Never mind."

In the meantime Dynablade had soared up into the sky and away from the village, realizing that there she would have the advantage. Kirby promptly followed, completely disregarding Meta Knight's warning not to follow her. Cursing he followed Kirby, but he had a bad feeling about it.

As soon as Kirby was close enough he used his newly acquired Spark ability. He sent an orb of crackling energy at Dynablade and it impacted with a loud bang. Unsurprisingly Dynablade was absolutely unharmed, though, her armor too thick for Kirby's attack to penetrate it.

And before Meta Knight was close enough to intervene, Dynablade had executed her counterattack. One strong blast of air and Kirby was thrown off his Warp Star and falling down.

"Kirby!"

Hoping that the Warp Star would catch him before Kirby reached the ground, Meta Knight attacked Dynablade to keep her away. He sent a Sword Beam, but soon had to realize that it left minimal damage to the armor. There was a little scratch; that was all.

Stunned by the ineffectiveness of his attack Meta Knight didn't get away in time as Dynablade raced with an incredible speed at him, not faster than sound, but too fast for him, and crashed into him.

It was a direct hit and Meta Knight could be glad that he didn't lose consciousness for that crash was strong enough to knock everyone else out. It was certainly thanks to his mask (surprisingly it wasn't shattered) that he stayed conscious, but it wasn't much help when he fell down.

Because when his mask hadn't shattered something else had. Right now there was pain and shock at the fact that he had been hit like that, but also his thought process had been shattered for the moment. There was nothing beyond the pain right now and Meta Knight didn't even make an attempt to use his wings and save himself.

What followed was more pain.

Not as much as expected considering Meta Knight fell out of the sky, but that was only because he landed in the ocean. The pain from hitting the water's surface was bearable, but he now was in danger of drowning.

Falling into the relatively cold water was something good in a way, however. The pain didn't fade or even lessen, but Meta Knight became a little more aware of what was happening and the fact that he would be drowning if he didn't get out of the water soon.

Meta Knight had to force himself to swim to where he hoped the surface was, battling against exhaustion and pain. When he finally reached the surface he took a deep breath of air, Kirby and Dynablade and everything else forgotten and not important.

It was only a short distance to the coast, but for Meta Knight it seemed endless. There weren't even waves, but for Meta Knight it felt like it and it felt like he would never reach the coast again.

When he finally did, he pulled himself out and kept lying on the spot, not bothering to get farther away from the ocean.

This really wasn't his day.

* * *

Roughly half an hour after that whole misunderstanding with Dynablade had been resolved, Fumu went along the coast. She had used the feeble excuse of 'needing some time to think alone' to get away and not be followed by Bun. In fact she was searching for Meta Knight, against better judgement.

He had fallen down somewhere above the ocean, just like Kirby had mere moments before him albeit quite some distance away. But whereas Kirby had appeared again, Meta Knight had not.

Maybe that was even a good thing, she wasn't too sure Meta Knight wouldn't have attacked Dynablade again, even when she had stopped her own attack when it turned out Kirby had not eaten her egg after all.

Her day had still been far from good, but at least part of their problem had been resolved. Sure, many buildings inside the village had been destroyed by Dynablade's rampage, but no one had been injured in the end (Kirby seemed to have the uncanny ability to survive everything without lasting damage) and houses could be built again.

Maybe time to think alone wasn't even that much of an excuse, she doubted she would find Meta Knight here; if he hadn't appeared again he would have left completely. Fumu was in for a surprise when she walked around some stones she guessed Dynablade's earlier attacks had left.

Lying face down on the ground was Meta Knight. He wasn't moving and Fumu doubted he was asleep, which led to the conclusion that he was unconscious.

Fumu carefully approached his unmoving form, but wasn't sure what to do. Actually she wanted to confront him about that incident a week ago (though she didn't really expect answers), but obviously now was not exactly the right time for that.

"Meta Knight?"

"Hm?"

Maybe he wasn't unconscious then.

"Are you alright?" What a stupid question. He was lying on the ground, so obviously he was _not_ alright. But Fumu was lost what to do with him anyway, so she might as well ask that question first.

"Hm..." Not exactly an answer Fumu would have liked, but close enough.

Then he moved. He tried to get up or at least it seemed that way. In the end he settled for lying on his back and looking up at the sky. Fumu couldn't see his face of course, but he seemed a little away with his thoughts and his golden eyes seemed a little duller than usual.

"Are you sure you are feeling alright?" Now Meta Knight turned slowly in her direction and Fumu could clearly see his eyes had not the same color they usually had.

"Yes." He got up painfully slow, but at least he didn't stagger. Then Fumu would have been sure he was even less alright than she thought already anyway.

"What exactly happened to you?" Meta Knight just stared blankly at her for a while and Fumu wondered if he either didn't understand that question or didn't comprehend it.

"I fell... down." Now he even slurred his words slightly and Fumu was sure he was far from alright. The fact he gestured weakly at the sky was only another sign of that because she doubted Meta Knight would normally have done something like that when he was perfectly aware that Fumu was not an idiot and would know he fell from somewhere above them.

But the most obvious sign was the fact he suddenly did stagger - right into some rocks. He took a step back, then clutched his head and just fell back without warning.

Fumu only watched events happen in disbelief. Something was _seriously_ wrong with him even.

"Fumu." She was a little startled when he suddenly said her name, but went closer to him.

"Don't you dare to leave me alone now or mention this ever again."

He was not alright, but whatever it was, it wasn't quite as bad as she had first feared (or hoped) it seemed...

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah... I took my time, didn't I? It's been... over two months now. Well sorry 'bout that, but I think it won't be _that_ long to next chapter.

What do I have to say to this chapter? Nothing much actually, but I know it's a little strange at times. ;)

And because I realize I took far too long with this chapter and I'm feeling generous you'll get the title of next chapter. The title is "Forest of Doom". Yes, that really is the title. ;) And because you got the title, you'll also get the warning. That chapter gets a warning for blood and the last warning for this story ever. There won't be a warning for character death because it's stupid to warn in the exact same chapter someone dies. ;)


	10. Forest of Doom: First Blood

**A/N: **I have a habit of updating on the first of the month, don't I? ;) So here it is, the next chapter and the chapter that increases the number of words to more than 60,000... That's much...

* * *

**10. Forest of Doom****: First Blood**

_"I will stay here, but I wonder why you would ask me to do that. Normally you try your hardest to either ignore me or get away from me."_

_"Change of heart."_

_Fumu did not frown at him. No, _of course_ she did _not_ frown because that answer was absolutely not typically of Meta Knight._

_"That answer really did not convince me."_

_"That is really too bad."_

_Her nonexistent frown threatened to deepen and Fumu had to battle against it. She won and her attention returned to Meta Knight._

_"What exactly happened to you anyway?"_

_"I fell down." _

_This time her nonexistent frown did deepen. She couldn't help it, she just had to be angry at Meta Knight because he was being difficult again. But she could also play this game._

_"That is really too bad." She was sure he noticed she used the exact same words he had used only moments ago. "If you'd excuse me, I have something better to do."_

_His__ suffering sigh told her Meta Knight wasn't quite as alright as he had pretended to be for the last three minutes (normally Meta Knight wouldn't sigh like that or care if she left or lie around on the ground) and she had won this round._

_"Alright, what do you want to know?" That question was far too tempting to ignore._

_"Why did you almost kill Dedede?" _

_"Because he attacked me and because we hate each other." Meta Knight groaned right after answering (still out of character) and Fumu was pretty sure he had just realized that it would have been better not to tell her that. _

_Fumu allowed herself a smile at her success (a part of her realized it was absolutely evil of her to take advantage of the fact that Meta Knight was not alright, but she managed to silence that part), but then her expression turned serious._

_"I know you are not alright, so stop pretending. What exactly is wrong?"_

_"Everything."_

* * *

A beautiful and sunny day found Bun, Kirby, Lololo and Lalala not outside and playing, but in the local shop. They had decided to have a picnic for once and had to make the difficult decision of what to buy.

"Do you want chocolate, Kirby?"

"Poyo!" Before Lalala had even finished her sentence, Kirby had already snatched the chocolate away and held it with a big smile on his face. Until Lololo took it from him right after he had taken it from Lalala.

"You can't have it now."

"It's for the picnic."

Several minutes later all four finally left the shop and Kirby clutched the chocolate yet again, after he had taken it from Lololo. He had a contented smile on his face and almost nothing would be able to ruin that now.

Almost nothing.

Screeching tires and a shout of "Kirby!" did not ruin his mood in any way, but Dedede wouldn't give up that easily and he had only just started.

"Today will be the day of your death!" Maybe that was a little overdramatic, especially if one considered what followed. "Go demon beast, Noddy!" Dedede had either captured one of the Noddies from earlier or ordered a new one from Holy Nightmare. Either way it didn't look threatening at all and Bun made his opinion rather clear when Lololo and Lalala made motions to help Kirby defend himself.

"Don't bother. Let's just leave this to Kirby." He pushed them out of the way to give Kirby all the space he needed. "Just inhale it and be done with it." Bun had a rather arrogant expression on his face and it didn't bother him in the slightest that Dedede looked eagerly at Kirby when Bun told him to inhale, and he completely ignored the subtle signs Escargon gave him to stop.

Escargon could only watch as Bun led Kirby to his doom.

The Noddy, more or less forgotten, had plans of its own. What plans exactly was hard to tell because in the few seconds all other people present did one thing or another, the Noddy did absolutely nothing. It just stood there, looked somewhere past Kirby and into the nothing and waited for something to happen.

When nothing did happen (everyone else had stopped doing anything a few seconds earlier), the Noddy did something itself. It now looked at Kirby or, to be correct, the chocolate he held in front of his face and then slowly walked closer until, even less than a foot away, it stopped.

They stayed in this position for a few seconds, until Kirby's formerly curious expression turned into a frown and he held the chocolate above his head and effectively out of reach for the Noddy.

It was questionable if the Noddy even wanted to have the chocolate. Kirby, however, felt threatened and started to run around in circles. The Noddy followed, not because of the chocolate but because of sheer curiosity, and what Dedede had hoped for, Escargon had dreaded and Bun had ordered, followed.

Kirby inhaled, the Noddy had no chance and Kirby swallowed.

"He did it!"

"Didn't I tell you he'd do it?"

Only did Bun, Lololo and Lalala not notice that Dedede was laughing to himself and Escargon tried to show no reaction (he failed spectacularly, but was lucky Dedede didn't notice him sigh).

They only noticed something was wrong when Kirby suddenly fell to the ground (still clutching the chocolate).

"What's wrong, Kirby?"

He didn't answer and soft snoring could be heard.

"This is the end for Kirby!" Dedede's words drowned Escargon's suffering sigh out and he still didn't notice that Escargon wasn't quite on his side right now. He made Escargon drive his tank back to the castle and would just be happy for the rest of the day because something had gone right.

Bun, Lololo and Lalala had other problems.

"Kirby?"

* * *

_"You are being way too overdramatic now to be Meta Knight."_

_"How do you expect me to act? That thing hit me, then I almost drowned and now everything hurts!" At least he was able to shout at her. He was wincing, presumably in pain, but at least he acted more like he normally did._

_"Oh..." Eloquently put, but Fumu couldn't think of much else to say. _

* * *

Running through the streets of the village near panic was not how Fumu had envisioned her day. But when Lalala had appeared and told her something was wrong with Kirby, she couldn't help it. Now she was running to the place where Kirby was, to Dr. Yabui's.

"Dr. Yabui! How is Kirby?"

"Ah Fumu." Yabui acted far too calm in Fumu's opinion. And even worse: she couldn't even tell his expression because of his opaque glasses and his beard.

"He doesn't look hurt..." Indeed Kirby looked fine. He simply lay on a cot and slept, the chocolate still clutched in his hands.

"It doesn't matter how much we try to wake him."

"He won't wake up."

"Eh?" That was bad. "Kirby! Kirby!" And it didn't matter how often Fumu said his name or shook him, he wouldn't wake up. "Dr. Yabui, what is going on?"

"It seems he inhaled a certain kind of demon beast and contracted sleeping sickness."

"Sleeping sickness?"

"It was a special demon beast that causes its opponent to sleep. At this rate Kirby will continue sleeping for 100, even 1000 years."

"**What**?" Shock was written all over Fumu's face. What would she do if Kirby slept for this long? Thoughts about Meta Knight's reaction when he found out made her shudder and she forced herself to think about something else.

"If only we'd helped him then!"

"It's Bun's fault for leaving him alone!"

"Be quiet." Bun had been silent so far and now Fumu knew exactly why. He had his arms crossed and after his answer looked at the wall again, like he had done before, and tried to ignore the rest.

"Didn't you stop us when we wanted to help him?"

"What? Is that true, Bun?" Fumu couldn't believe it. How could Bun do that?

"I just figured that Kirby would inhale it and that would be the end of it." He still had his arms crossed and refused to look anywhere but the wall opposite of where Fumu stood.

"I can't believe you! You are the worst!"

"Isn't this Dedede's fault?" Bun didn't see himself at fault and shouted right back at Fumu.

"That's enough. This isn't going to wake Kirby either." Bun snorted and turned to the wall again, Fumu looked questioning at Dr. Yabui.

"Well, isn't there a way to wake him?"

Dr. Yabui looked thoughtful for a moment (at least Fumu assumed he did) and then picked up a book. "There's one possibility that could save him. The Puykii Flower."

"Puykii Flower?" Fumu had never heard of that one and neither had the others.

"This legendary flower blooms inside a cave deep in Bababagahara. It is said that if a sleeping person smells the sweet fragrance said person will instantly awaken."

"So if we have Kirby smell that he will awaken?"

"Probably." Maybe not the most reassuring answer, but it gave hope at least.

"It's impossible. No one ever got out of there. I wouldn't even make it if I had a million lives." Bun had briefly looked at Fumu, but turned back to the wall even before he had finished his sentence.

"But you can't leave him like that! This is your fault! This is your responsibility!" Fumu was shouting again and this time Bun did look at her. But he wasn't the only one at fault. "Lololo and Lalala too. Go find the Puykii Flower right now!"

All of them looked away and Fumu narrowed her eyes at them. "Fine! I get it! Just forget it!" She stalked out of the room, seething.

* * *

_Fumu had been sitting beside Meta Knight in silence for some time now and she couldn't say it was a comfortable silence in any way. Maybe he had fallen asleep (unlikely) or had lost consciousness? Fumu wouldn't know, after all he didn't even move and for all Fumu knew he could also have died. Not that Fumu assumed exactly that, but it was a possibility._

_But just as Fumu was about to say something, _anything_, Meta Knight moved. He got up again, even slower than last time. Fumu eyed him carefully and went closer, wondering what he would do if she tried to help him_. _Because obviously he was in need of help; he staggered alarmingly again and only still stood because he held onto the rocks he had hit earlier._

_"Do you need my help?"_

_"No, I don't n..." He didn't even finish his sentence for whatever reason. _

_"Of course you don't." Fumu's dry answer was not to his liking, but his glare was only halfhearted. _

_"Come on, let me help you." Meta Knight only sighed in defeat._

_Fumu more or less forced him to let her support part of his weight, but she clearly noticed Meta Knight wasn't thrilled about that. "I can't leave you alone when you are like this and you asked me to stay."_

_Meta Knight sighed again. "You know what Fumu, there is something I really like about you. You are intelligent enough to see that I was pretending." _

_Fumu stared dumbfounded at him. __"Huh__?" Then she got angry. "You are mocking me, aren't you?"_

_"There was some truth in that statement." What exactly was truth was left unmentioned, but Fumu was amazed there even was some. And she didn't exactly know how to respond._

_They had made very little progress in their endeavor to get somewhere else and Meta Knight did his best to hinder them further. Fumu didn't think that was on purpose , after all he was the one to object her very help but knew she wouldn't leave him now. But the fact that he fell and took Fumu with him to the ground made Fumu think if maybe, just maybe he did that on purpose after all. _

_The fact that Fumu landed on top of him and that was just as awkward for her as for him somehow disproved that thought, however._

_"Just great." The fact they spoke those words at the same time made it all the more awkward._

* * *

"Fumu, isn't this a bit too much for a picnic?"

"You'll be home before dinner, won't you?"

Her parents' concern was touching, but right now she just wanted to get away, get to Bababagahara and help Kirby. If Bun didn't do it, she would.

"Don't worry. I'm thoroughly equipped."

"Kirby is soundly asleep. And why isn't Bun with you?" An unfortunate observation and the critical question. Indeed Kirby was asleep and in a basket on the same boat Fumu was currently on. Hopefully her father wouldn't ask _why_ Kirby was asleep next.

"You'll have to ask him yourself." Fumu used her paddle to get away from the landing stage and effectively stopped any more questions. "Well, I'm going."

She paddled and soon, after a turn, her parents couldn't see her anymore. But that didn't stop others from seeing her because unfortunately there was a road right beside the river she was on.

"You're on your way to Bababagahara, huh?" Dedede made Escargon drive his tank beside Fumu and had nothing better to do than laugh at her situation.

"Try not to die when you're there!" Escargon's expression told something completely different from what his tone suggested. But because Dedede couldn't see his expression from where he sat, Escargon could look apologetic at Fumu. Sometimes she really wondered what exactly was up with Escargon.

She frowned at them both nonetheless, but continued without commenting.

The next problem arose soon after. Bun had come to a decision and Fumu was not part of that. He stood on a tree branch and jumped down just as Fumu and her boat were right under him.

Fumu, who had not noticed him, was too surprised to defend herself against that surprise attack. She fell out of the boat and into the water and could only watch as Bun kidnapped Kirby from right under her nose.

"Bun! Wait!"

"You said it was my responsibility. So I'm going." Bun was faster with the boat than Fumu was with swimming and she knew she wouldn't catch up to him if he decided not to take her along.

"We're going with you. We're responsible, too." At least Bun wouldn't be alone because Lololo and Lalala joined him. That didn't help Fumu because neither of them made an attempt to help her, but better those three than Bun alone.

"You can follow me, just don't get in my way." Fumu wanted to shout at him because how would she do that if Bun left her behind in the water?

"Bun!" Then she swallowed water, stopped swimming and the current dragged her along.

But surprisingly Fumu was saved. Suddenly a rope appeared in front of her and she grabbed it. When she looked up she saw just who had saved her and she was surprised again. Meta Knight stood on a tree branch, the other end of the rope in hand.

"Meta Knight!" She hadn't expected Meta Knight to help her, she had rather expected him to let her drown and laugh evilly while he watched. Well, maybe not exactly like that, but she hadn't expected that he helped her.

When she finally got out of the river, Meta Knight jumped down from the tree and listened to her complaining about Bun, the river and Dedede. He didn't seem bothered, but _he_ hadn't been in her focus, yet. That, however, changed.

"Why did you help me?" She was instantly suspicious and Meta Knight shouldn't fault her for that, after all he had refused to help Fumu in the past and that more than once. But when Fumu actually expected him to be any nicer than other times, she would be severely disappointed.

"Who says I helped you and not myself?"

Fumu could only gape at him because that was just so typical of him. He had flat out refused to answer her question and instead had asked her a question himself. Not that he really expected an answer because there was none to that question, but he always enjoyed it to leave Fumu speechless. But it didn't stay this way for long. Fumu sighed in annoyance and then gave him a hard stare.

"You know what? I don't care why you did it. If you would excuse me, I have to follow Bun and stop him from being reckless." Fumu resolutely turned and went after Bun, but Meta Knight's next comment made her falter.

"Try not to die." His nonchalant comment certainly made impact and Fumu wasn't too sure anymore if she really wanted to follow Bun into Bababagahara. She hadn't really thought about the place she had to go and obviously neither had Bun, but now Meta Knight had reminded her just how dangerous it was. But she couldn't back down now.

"I won't." She thought of it as success that her voice didn't tremble quite as much as she had thought. But Meta Knight didn't quite react as expected. Of course he had noticed, Fumu should have known, and it shouldn't surprise her that he was laughing at her.

"That is brave, Fumu. Going into the jungle although you know you very well may die. Brave but foolish. I thought you were smarter than that." Fumu wasn't exactly sure if she should be insulted or not. He had called her foolish, certainly not a compliment, but he had also said he thought she was smart. Then again that could only be one of his mind games, wouldn't be the first time he did something like that.

She wasn't sure what he tried to accomplish with that, but now Fumu was sure she did _not_ want to go into that jungle. Which was quite unfortunate because Bun was there and he could certainly use her help. Lololo and Lalala were with him, but Fumu seriously doubted those three were really able to defend themselves in case of emergency. If she went alone into the jungle she would have the same problem, only did she not have someone who could at least theoretically help her.

"And what would you say I should do?" She had decided to be angry at Meta Knight because that really only was his fault. She wouldn't hesitate if he hadn't said she might die. Maybe she shouldn't have grabbed the rope, then she would at least not be in _this_ mess.

"I would say give up on them." Fumu stared incredulously at him. He couldn't really mean that, could he? But it was Meta Knight and by now Fumu knew he was a heartless bastard. He had almost killed Dedede and he killed all demon beasts without caring in the least. Surely he wouldn't care if her brother, Lololo, Lalala and Kirby died.

"But Kirby is with them and I would really hate it if he died."

Fumu blinked. He was still a bastard, but at least he seemed to care a little for Kirby. It didn't escape her notice, however, that he had only said he would hate it if Kirby died. Obviously he didn't care for the others then.

"So... you will help me?" Fumu wasn't too thrilled, but better with Meta Knight than without him. Him at least she knew and he would be enough to protect her from the things inside Bababagahara. If only he wasn't becoming more and more unpredictable and scary...

"Call it what you like." He was already walking in direction of the jungle. "I advise you to stay close if you don't want to be left behind."

She had a bad feeling about all of this.

* * *

_Fumu tried to get up as fast as possible, but unfortunately her foot got entangled in Meta Knight's cape and she fell right down again - once more on top of Meta Knight. _

_This caused her to almost jump away from him as soon as she was certain she would get up without falling down again. Meta Knight took more time and only sat up__, and while he looked at her, Fumu tried her best to look anywhere but him. _

_"You could have simply told me you liked me and didn't have to fall on top of me."_

_Fumu turned beet-red, partly in embarrassment and partly in anger because he knew full well it hadn't been on purpose._

_"You fell and took me with you to the ground!" _

_"And the second time?"_

_"I tripped!"_

_Meta Knight looked thoughtful (not that she could be absolutely sure about that) at her for a moment._

_"Tell yourself that." Fumu only gaped at him, unable to find a response to that before he made it even worse._

_"I fear you won't hear the words 'I love you' from me anytime soon, though."_

_That had been the most awkward conversation with Meta Knight by far and Fumu hoped he would never ever be hit in the head again if that was what happened then._

* * *

It didn't take long for them to catch up with Bun, Lololo, Lalala and Kirby.

"Well, let's go. Stay close to me."

Bun had just left the boat when Meta Knight and Fumu had already caught up to him. They stayed out of sight at Meta Knight's insistence and were watching from behind some bushes. But Bun didn't pay any attention to his surroundings anyway and it was likely he wouldn't even notice them if they didn't hide.

"I wonder what will attack them first."

"Meta Knight, stop being so heartless!" But Meta Knight most certainly wouldn't stop. He was doing this on purpose and Fumu would have to suffer this for quite some time to come.

"I would call it realistic and not heartless. It would be heartless if I killed them myself." Meta Knight closely watched Fumu's reaction. She paled and took a step away from him, clearly shocked by what he had said right now. Good.

"Believe me, everything can attack you here." He ignored his earlier remark and Fumu's reaction to it and was really interested how she would react to the whole situation now. He wouldn't kill them, but Fumu certainly remembered the Noddy-incident (the one she had been present at least) and what had almost happened after that. Would she think he would kill them all?

It didn't become clear what she thought about all that right away. Her expression rapidly changed from shock to something he would call surprise and then to something he would call doubt. It was really entertaining to watch her.

"How- Would that include Kirby?" Now _that_ question was certainly unexpected. If he killed them would that include Kirby? Meta Knight was a little _displeased_ by that question and wondered why Fumu had asked that particular question. Obviously she thought he was more heartless than he had expected and that bothered him more than it should.

And he was at a loss for words. He hadn't expected that question at all when maybe he should have. He had said to abandon them and only that he would hate it if Kirby died. He had never said anything about the others and the conclusion that Fumu seemed to have come to was that he didn't care if they lived or died.

He admitted he didn't really know them and he would certainly not cry if any of them died, but for Fumu to think he would actually kill them... He had done more damage than he had expected.

And he still didn't know how to answer her. He wouldn't kill Kirby, wouldn't kill the other three, but if he answered 'no' Fumu would assume he would kill the other three if he got the chance and would spare Kirby. If he answered 'yes' it would be even worse.

There was no way he could change Fumu's opinion, either answer was wrong. He just couldn't answer Fumu's question and he knew it. The only way to get out of this was to do what he had done in the past already, answering her question without answering it. Good thing he had said something else before Fumu's question.

"No, that doesn't include Kirby. He wouldn't attack you." He had answered her question, only not in the right context. Fumu's expression wasn't that easy to read anymore. She bit her lip and didn't look at him. That had not been such a good idea, but there was no helping it and he wouldn't bother with it. She could have whatever opinion she liked of him.

"Follow me." He just ignored her for now and followed Bun.

She followed him (with some distance between them he noticed) and soon they could see and hear Bun again.

The jungle around them was becoming denser with every step they took and Meta Knight wondered how Bun even knew in which direction he had to go. Everywhere around them were trees and the ground was covered with grass; green was all around them. Good thing Meta Knight at least knew where to go.

"I'm fine." Whatever part of the conversation they had missed, obviously something was going on. Bun, with Kirby on his back, was walking past Lololo and Lalala, who looked at each other and then followed him.

But they didn't follow him for a long time. Soon they had passed him and instead of continuing on his way Bun suddenly stopped.

"Stop being stubborn and let us carry him." Lololo and Lalala had noticed and came floating back at him.

"Yeah, we'll do it."

"I'm fine." Bun tried to continue on his way, but Lololo wouldn't let him.

"Let me have him."

"No!"

Predictably the whole argument ended with neither of them carrying Kirby because he was tumbling down a slope and out of sight.

"Geez... Just great." Bun promptly jumped after Kirby and Lololo and Lalala followed him, searching for Kirby.

"Kirby! Where are you?" The chances of Kirby answering were nonexistent because he was still asleep and wouldn't awake any time soon. Bun was searching for him in one direction, while Lololo and Lalala searched in another. Fumu and Meta Knight, hidden behind a tree, already knew that Kirby was in a bit of trouble. Not that he himself noticed.

Kirby had - unfortunately - landed inside a spider's cobweb. Not just any spider's cobweb, that wouldn't have been a problem, but a giant one. The spider wouldn't be too far away and if it appeared, Kirby would be in even more trouble.

Meta Knight and Fumu also realized that, but Meta Knight stopped Fumu's attempt to help Kirby. That was Bun's fault so he should be the one to save Kirby. Meta Knight really hoped Bun would manage that.

By now Bun had noticed where Kirby was, but so had the huge, orange spider with weird black cross stripes. And just as Meta Knight had feared Bun was absolutely no use. Granted, Meta Knight didn't think Bun could do much, but _something_ would have been good already. Instead he was gesturing around frantically and shouting at Kirby, which was really no use.

The spider had almost reached Kirby when Bun decided to at least try to help Kirby. That pathetic stick he threw would admittedly not really help, the stone Meta Knight threw at the same time all the more. The stick didn't even reach the spider, but it was of no consequence because the stone was thrown with so much force it made the spider retreat.

Bun cheered, thinking it had been his stick to drive the spider away and Meta Knight could only watch in disbelief. He actually thought that had been him?

"Hey Lololo, Lalala!"

"He is an idiot." Meta Knight was sure Fumu had similar thoughts, her staring earlier had made that obvious, but she saw the need to defend Bun against Meta Knight now. Interesting.

"Don't insult him. At least he tried to get the spider away from Kirby." Meta Knight smirked behind his mask. Interesting indeed.

"I admit that. But it was obvious his pathetic little stick didn't even reach the spider. And it was also obvious the spider was hit from its right side and not from the front." Fumu crossed her arms and gave him a glare.

"You just have to make him look bad, don't you?" Meta Knight continued smirking, unseen behind his mask. He was sure Fumu knew he was smirking despite the mask, what made the whole situation all the more fun.

"If you say so." Meta Knight shrugged uncaringly and continued walking as to not lose the other three. This was exactly what Fumu hated, her next exclamation made that quite clear.

"Gah!"

It was just becoming more and more fun and he was sure Fumu knew that. Still she could do nothing about it. The only one that could really ruin his mood right now was Bun and he really did his best to accomplish just that.

Meta Knight was sure Bun hadn't done it on purpose, that would have been really stupid, but somehow he had managed to get in trouble again in less then five minutes. That was certainly an accomplishment, but not only did it endanger himself, it also endangered Kirby, Lololo and Lalala. And left Meta Knight to figure a way out to somehow save them.

He could still hope the giant lizard-like creature before Bun was herbivorous and would ignore him, but chances of that weren't too high. Meta Knight had to notice that everything here seemed to be carnivorous - even the plants. With that in mind it was even more unlikely that something dangerous-looking like that creature would not try to eat them.

And just as expected the black lizard-like creature with a weird yellow pattern all over its body flickered its tongue and looked hungrily down at Bun and Kirby. Lololo and Lalala got the cue and hurried away, Bun, however, seemed rather unimpressed.

"Oh? That's a huge lizard."

Meta Knight would have liked to smack him right then because he was acting really stupid right now. Fumu could say what she liked, but Bun was definitely being an idiot.

But even he got the message when the lizard snatched at him.

"Whoa!"

Miraculously Bun had not been hit, what angered the lizard and surprised Bun. At least he was smart enough to actually run away now - screaming and thus possibly attracting more dangerous creatures.

"Shit!" Meta Knight cursed and ran after him, Fumu hot on his heels. She was panting quite hard, but that didn't stop her from throwing accusations at him.

"If we had shown... ourselves that wouldn't... be happening... right now!" She could be really annoying if she wanted to and right now Meta Knight didn't exactly have the time to deal with that.

"Of course you are right. We would all be running _from_ that lizard now and not _after_ it!" Meta Knight couldn't see Fumu's reaction because she was behind him, though he could imagine the glare she was sending in his direction.

Then they caught up to Bun and the lizard because Bun had started to run in circles in a clearing and the lizard was chasing right after him. But Meta Knight was unsure what to do, he couldn't attack because he might hit Bun and Kirby.

"**What** are you waiting for? Help them!" Meta Knight whirled in Fumu's direction and glared at her.

"I can't!"

"**Why**?"

"I would kill them if I attacked!" Both noticed they were wasting precious time, but didn't know how to help Bun and Kirby.

"Then do something else! Distract it!"

"And **how**?"

"I don't know! Throw your oh so mighty stones at it!" Fumu hadn't been serious, it was sarcasm more than anything else because Meta Knight had complained about Bun's stick earlier. But it didn't matter because Meta Knight did exactly that.

Bun hadn't even noticed Meta Knight and Fumu were arguing. He had simply run away and tried to stay alive, but when he had tripped, everything seemed lost. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his face, but the pain of being bitten by a giant lizard never came.

The stone had hit the lizard and had effectively distracted it from Bun. The only problem that created was that now Meta Knight and Fumu were its new targets.

"What do we do now?" Meta Knight looked pointedly at Fumu.

"Run." For a second Fumu stared incredulously at him, then she took his advice and ran as fast as she could, Meta Knight right behind her.

"Just great! Now... we are the ones... that are going to be eaten!" Fumu was again panting hard and Meta Knight wondered how she even managed to say anything like that. And her lack of faith was really insulting. Did she really think he would let that stupid thing kill them?

Meta Knight suddenly stopped, his sword materializing with crackling energy. He would kill that thing. But he thought better of it and didn't face it head-on. Instead he jumped out of the way at the last possible moment and at the same time swung his sword at it.

He hit its right foreleg and the lizard crashed to the ground, the three other legs unable to hold its weight while it ran. But as expected that wasn't the end. It stood angrily again and if looks could kill, Meta Knight would be dead by now. It glared hatefully at him and Meta Knight glared right back.

"Go, Meta Knight!" However, Meta Knight was a little distracted by Fumu. He turned in her direction and was about to shout at her to shut up, when he more sensed than saw the lizard's attack. He dropped flat to the ground and the lizard missed him, but instead tore bits out of the ground.

Angrily it spat the grass it now had in its mouth back out and made another attempt to bite Meta Knight. Still on the ground he didn't get the chance to get away, but got his weapon up in time.

The strike from a weapon he would simply have blocked. The lizard, however, bit right into the sword and its six spikes. Immediately it let go, the spikes cutting deeply into its flesh and causing it pain. Blood dripped from its mouth, much blood and right onto Meta Knight, hitting his mask and left eye through the visor.

Meta Knight hissed at the burning sensation of getting blood in his eye and scrambled to his feet and away from the lizard. He held his sword in a defensive position and waited for his opponent to attack again.

But the lizard had enough; it eyed Meta Knight hatefully but decided it wasn't worth it and slowly backed off without taking its eyes off Meta Knight. When it finally disappeared Meta Knight sheathed his sword and turned around.

Fumu had been silent after her cheering had distracted Meta Knight, but when he turned to her, she had been about to say something. Only Meta Knight never got to know what it was because she stopped dead.

Fumu had opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying anything. She only stared at Meta Knight, obviously shocked because of something. Meta Knight wondered why exactly, he had killed demon beasts before her eyes after all and that lizard had lived.

Then he remembered that he would be covered in blood because some of the blood dripped in his eye again and he saw partly red. How ridiculous. She would have seen him covered in blood already before. But thinking back he noticed that no, not only had he never been covered in blood before her eyes, there also hadn't been much blood before in any of his fights.

He guessed it wasn't a pretty sight for her, most likely that blood covered most of his left side and parts of his right side, he wasn't sure. Adding the crack in his mask that looked pretty much like his own blood. He wasn't too sure if that thought would upset her at all, but he was pretty sure the blood itself was reason enough to upset her.

"Fumu?"

Coming closer to her might not have been the smartest idea, but Meta Knight was... not worried, maybe slightly concerned?

Fumu blinked a few times and her previously unfocused gaze focused again. She had been staring blankly into the nothing, right at the spot were Meta Knight had been only moments before. Now, however, she was back to awareness and noticed Meta Knight was actually right beside her.

"Do me and yourself a favor and don't pass out." Fumu looked startled at him. Clearly _that_ had not been what she had expected.

"I won't."

Meta Knight simply shrugged in response and walked past her, back in the direction they had come from. Soon Fumu was walking beside him, but not for long because there was something that apparently bothered her.

"Can't you get rid of that blood?"

"Gladly. And how may I ask am I going to get rid of it?" Meta Knight didn't even turn in her direction. Did she really think he liked being covered in the blood of some lizard?

"How about using water?" Now he did stop and turned in her direction.

"Great idea, Fumu, why didn't I think of that? Oh right, because there is no water here."

"There certainly is water somewhere here."

"Yes, there is a river. But you might notice that it is not _here_." Fumu frowned, clearly defeated by Meta Knight's arguments. "If it helps to distract you from the fact you just lost another battle of words against me we could play a round of I Spy. After all with red there now is one more color except for the ever-present green." Meta Knight gestured at the jungle all around them and indeed there was only green.

Although it was hardly possible Fumu managed to frown even more at him and then walked past him, seething. "You are insufferable! You know that, don't you?" Meta Knight could only smirk in response.

* * *

**A/N:** Obviously that's not everything there is to this chapter. It was split and that right inside a part. That means I will continue right where I left off next chapter.

So next chapter will just be part two, but I'll see what I'll do about the name. Maybe it'll stay like it is now or maybe I'll change the title of this later on, I don't know yet... Though most likely I will change it because it doesn't fit that well to this part... So don't be surprised if the title suddenly changes. ;)


	11. Forest of Doom: Revenge

**A/N:** Remember I said there would be no further warning? Well, I take that back, you'll get a warning for... someone acting quite alarmingly in this chapter. Darkness ahead I'd say. ^^

* * *

**11. Forest of Doom: Revenge**

They walked in silence back through the vegetation to the clearing where they had last seen Bun; Fumu clearly sulking, Meta Knight still smirking.

"This is the Forest of Doom! Everything tries to eat us!" They didn't have to search long to find Bun again. He complained loudly to Lololo and Lalala and everything close by would be able to hear him. He wasn't in the same clearing anymore, but just in another part of the dense jungle. Meta Knight and Fumu watched him from a slightly higher position.

Now again concealed by some bushes, Meta Knight wondered if Bun didn't realize the dangers of attracting the attention of everything around them. He was also clearly exaggerating, so far there had only been the spider and the lizard, that was hardly _everything_. And it wasn't a forest but a jungle.

"We have to show ourselves and stop him from shouting any louder." Fumu was back to talking or in this case whispering to him, it seemed. Out of sheer necessity because there was no one else to talk to, but still...

"This is his fault, so he will be the one to fix it, alone." Meta Knight whispered back, but saw that Fumu didn't see it the same way.

"They will all get themselves killed if they continue like that!" Now Fumu hissed at him, furious at his attitude. Meta Knight didn't care.

"Why do you think I am here? To ensure they don't die!"

"Well done so far! That lizard almost ate Bun and then it almost ate us!" Neither of them even noticed dusk was slowly approaching and Bun, Lololo and Lalala had continued their quest to find the Pyukii Flower. They were too absorbed in their argument.

"It didn't eat us and I would have killed it if it had attacked again!"

"You say that, but I am not convinced that would have been the case!"

They had given up on hissing at each other and now shouted, doing exactly what they had criticized Bun for. But obviously he didn't hear them argue because then he would have appeared again.

"I kill demon beasts, that lizard would have been no problem!"

"And I am still not convinced! Do I have to remind you that you were lying on the ground with that thing above you?"

"And do I have to remind you whose fault that was?" They were staring furiously at each other, Meta Knight just barely keeping his eyes from turning red. Fumu clenched her teeth because she knew that had been partly her fault, but she would not take the blame.

"Yeah right, it was only my fault and you had nothing to do with it!"

"Of course it was your fault!"

"Meta Knight you-" Meta Knight would never know if Fumu would have insulted him (but he guessed she would have) because he suddenly jumped at her. Fumu looked alarmed at him shortly before he hit her, then they both fell down the sort of embankment they had been standing on.

Unfortunately it was a long way down or at least it seemed like it. Meta Knight had Fumu in something like an embrace and shielded her from most harm like this. He, however, felt the scratches the thorn bushes left on his arms.

And it didn't become any better when they reached the bottom. Meta Knight let go of Fumu, but he was a little too late with that.

"Ah!"

Both of them fell headlong into the pond at the bottom.

It certainly wasn't cold in the jungle, it was warm even. But the water was a little too cold in Meta Knight's opinion.

Disoriented as he was, it had taken him a few seconds to reach the surface again. When he reached it, he took a deep breath of fresh air and then looked around to see what had happened to Fumu.

She had already reached the shore and was just now climbing back out. She spat some water out, shook her head to get rid of the water in her face and then turned in Meta Knight's direction, her expression murderous.

At least he got rid of the blood...

He took his time, knowing full well she would shout at him - again. When he got out of the pond he shook his whole body to get rid of the water, but unfortunately Fumu was too close and got hit with that water. She wiped it off her face, still with that same murderous expression and then began shouting.

"_Why_ did you do **that**?" Meta Knight would have liked to justify his actions, but Fumu wouldn't let him. "Are you mad? Was there _any_ reason to make us both fall down from there and into the pond?" Fumu had to take a breath and Meta Knight took his chance to answer.

"Next time I will just let you die."

Fumu had been about to continue her shouting, but that left her speechless. She had her mouth opened, but no words came out. She just stared at Meta Knight, what was exactly what he had expected.

"Do you really think I jumped at you for fun? Of course there was a reason!"

"And what reason might that be?" Seemed like Fumu went with completely ignoring his remark after her initial shock.

"To save your life!" Fumu narrowed her eyes at him, not believing a word of what he said.

Meta Knight saw her look and interpreted it correctly. He also narrowed his eyes at her and then suddenly turned around and began walking away. "Don't believe me then, I couldn't care less."

He uncharacteristically wrapped his cape around himself because he was feeling slightly cold and instantly regretted it. He should have considered that not only he himself but also his cape was drenched. He grimaced slightly behind his mask, but gave no other outward sign of feeling uncomfortable and continued on his way. Fumu would either follow or she would not.

Predictably she did follow him, but Meta Knight was pretty sure she tried to burn holes into his back with her glare.

It was getting considerably darker now and soon Fumu wouldn't be able to see anything. Meta Knight wouldn't have quite as much trouble with that, but it would be really annoying to have Fumu trip over everything in her way. Not that she didn't deserve it, but they would never find Bun again like that.

"Fumu, hurry."

Telling Fumu to hurry up was surely no way to placate her, but Meta Knight had decided he wouldn't even try. It was her problem if she was angry at him and Meta Knight would not care.

Fumu had hurried and walked now beside him, giving him murderous looks every now and then, but there was a new problem: Fumu shivered with cold and Meta Knight couldn't say he didn't feel the cold, he only hid it better than Fumu.

He was forced to reconsider his plan; searching for Bun and watching him from afar didn't seem like a good idea anymore. Instead he had to find a way to get himself and Fumu dry again, else it wouldn't end well.

"It's no use." Fumu stopped and glared at him. "We can't continue like this. I am not happy with this, but we will have to stop. Unless you want to freeze that is."

The withering look Fumu sent him was answer enough.

* * *

An hour later Fumu could be found sleeping on the more or less soft ground, separated from Meta Knight by a fire. It had been necessary, now at least they were both dry and Fumu even slept, sparing Meta Knight her annoying glares.

The fact she slept also enabled him to do something else.

Meta Knight put some more wood on the fire (he had cut a whole tree for it) and then spread his wings and took flight. He had something to do.

It didn't take him long to reach his destination, a part of the jungle that looked just like any other part did; just the same green wall of trees and bushes.

But something about this part of the jungle was different. It was a part of the jungle where green wouldn't stay the sole color, one other color would be added soon, Meta Knight would make sure of that.

It was the place where the Noddies were. The Noddies Meta Knight still had a score to settle with. It had taken him a little over a week now, but he certainly hadn't forgotten that little incident from the last time he had been in Bababagahara.

They would pay, they would suffer and they would die. It was as simple as that.

But Meta Knight took his time, observing what all of them did or, in this case, didn't do.

Although they had acted terribly out of character last time and he had to admit grudgingly that they had surprised him, they were now acting like Noddies normally did. Not acting at all.

They were asleep, all of them, leaving them absolutely unprotected and making it almost too easy.

Meta Knight slowly approached them without making a sound, almost invisible in the darkness of night. The only things that would give him away were his eyes, now a blazing red and a stark contrast to the blackness all around him.

But it didn't matter. It didn't matter because in a flash he had drawn his sword, which materialized in a crackle of electricity and alerted the closest Noddies to his presence.

It made no difference. If they tried to attack him, tried to run away or didn't even notice him, nothing of it made a difference to him.

His sword came down on his first opponent - if it could even be called that - and after that one first hit, the first death had happened.

Many Noddies froze, others paid Meta Knight no mind and tried to get away as fast as possible. They had overcome their usual sleepiness once to attack him, but now they didn't. All of them still seemed tired and Meta Knight almost laughed because it was _so_ easy.

He brandished his sword in front of his face once, got rid of the blood on it. Then he pointed it at the closest Noddy, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

He would dye the landscape blood-red.

* * *

There was no light. The moon was only barely able to illuminate the landscape, but now clouds obscured it and there was no light, leaving everything in darkness.

It was fitting in a way, something a creature of darkness like himself had done, hidden by darkness until the light of day revealed it for everyone to see.

It didn't matter to Meta Knight anyway. He had seen it, could still see it, could smell it. The death and destruction he had left behind, the blood. The blood, the color of which matched the color of his eyes right now.

He had gotten his revenge now, all of the Noddies dead on the ground around him and lying in their own blood. Dead and gone.

He should be feeling the rush, but instead he felt nothing of the sort. Coldness. A cold rage that all of them had died without as much as a fight. Rage that they had managed to catch him off guard. Rage that he had killed them.

It wasn't even revenge on Nightmare, _he_ wouldn't care. Had never cared. It was his own revenge for their revenge; petty, irrelevant in the end.

There was no satisfaction, and after his cold rage only emptiness remained. Nothing. _Darkness_.

_Pathetic_.

He wasn't even sure why he stood in the darkness of the night, surrounded by the carnage he had caused himself, laughing madly.

* * *

When Meta Knight woke Fumu the next morning she was still angry at him. That was hardly unexpected, but there was now a new reason why she was angry even.

"Where did you go last night?" That didn't qualify as a question anymore, it was a demand. Meta Knight wondered how she had even noticed he had left and cursed himself for his carelessness. Though maybe it wasn't that bad she had noticed, although she wouldn't like the answer.

"I went... _hunting_."

"Hunting?" Meta Knight wondered how much effort it cost her to look at him with a deadpan expression and not one full of anger, but he guessed it was quite a bit.

"Yes, that is what I said." Her mask of inexpressiveness cracked and she scowled at him.

"Why would you go hunting? And in the middle of the night?"

He smirked at her, unseen. "Because I had a score to settle." Wisely Fumu didn't ask any other questions after that, at least for now. The honest answer would only have disturbed her anyway.

"Come on, we have to catch up to Bun."

Fumu was forced to hurry after Meta Knight if she didn't want to be left behind. She had no idea where they were even going, but Meta Knight seemed undeterred and walked in one direction through the dense jungle, completely ignoring the fact that Fumu had almost tripped over two roots and was muttering curses under her breath (one at the roots and one at Meta Knight).

After twenty minutes of wandering through the jungle and surprisingly only one attack by some oversized insect that Meta Knight had taken care of, they arrived at a cave that would certainly be their destination.

"That looks scary..." Meta Knight would have to agree, it did look far from welcoming. The entrance looked like a mouth, ready to devour anyone that was foolish enough to come too close. The fact it also looked like there were two eyes above that mouth didn't help to dispel the feeling of doom the cave exuded.

"You could always leave."

"And be eaten by one of the things that live here?" Fumu's reply was rather caustic.

"I am far more dangerous than anything that lives here." Whereas Meta Knight was deadly serious.

Fumu gave him a calculating look. "I'll take the risk of staying with you, after all you won't kill me, contrary to the other things here."

"If I were you I would _not_ be so sure about that. Don't make the mistake of thinking that I wouldn't kill even you if you gave me enough reason." If Fumu was surprised or scared because of his statement, she hid it well.

They stared at each other until Meta Knight suddenly turned in direction of the cave, expression thoughtful. "Bun will arrive shortly. I will make sure he doesn't encounter a problem when he enters the cave. Stay here."

Before Fumu could answer he had left her behind, on his way to the cave. Fumu, however, didn't take kindly to that and ran after him, completely ignoring that obviously he didn't want her to come along.

"Wait!" She only reached him after he had already entered, a fact that was quite unfortunate. Meta Knight had seen the huge snake right away and had moved out of the way, whereas Fumu had not seen it and ran right into its range.

"Met-" The snake spotted her and didn't waste any time attacking. Its head shot forward, ready to sink its fangs into Fumu. She was too surprised to do much other than stand around and look fearfully at her attacker, but Meta Knight sprang into action as soon as he had seen her.

He managed to grab Fumu and jump out of reach with her in time, causing the snake to hit the wall of the cave instead and leaving it disoriented for some time. Meta Knight took the opportunity to drag Fumu along and further out of reach for the snake.

"Fumu you idiot!" Saying Meta Knight was angry was an understatement, he was furious. Not listening to him he could have expected, but she had put herself in danger because of it and had forced him to intervene.

Still in Meta Knight's grip, Fumu could do nothing to escape his wrath and was also far too close for comfort. The fact his eyes had turned a blazing red had escaped his notice and when the snake appeared, Meta Knight had finally enough.

The snake was already in the middle of attacking, but Meta Knight was faster. He had swung his golden sword and instead of hitting him, the snake's attack missed because its head had been severed before it had even come close enough to sink its fangs into Meta Knight or Fumu.

The head landed some distance away on the ground with a thud, accompanied by splashes of blood. Fumu beside him shrieked and backed away as soon as he let go of her.

Why she backed away was the next question. Because the beheaded snake lay directly in front of Meta Knight and leaked blood to the ground or because of the red eyes he had become aware of by now?

"Are you scared?" It was a pointless question, the answer was obvious.

Fumu backed further away, until her back hit a tree and she couldn't go on. Meta Knight had followed and stood directly in front of her, blocking all escape routes.

"Do you remember you told me I wasn't as ruthless as other demon beasts? You are wrong, I _am_ far more dangerous and ruthless than anything else you ever met in your life." Fumu gulped. "And remember, I will kill you if you give me enough reason."

"Meta Knight..." She was scared, but not downright terrified as he would have expected. In fact something like determination soon replaced her fear and she bravely took a step forward. "Meta Knight you-"

Meta Knight would never know what Fumu wanted to tell him because he never asked her after that, though he would get an opinion about himself much later.

Meta Knight suddenly collapsed in agony, wondering why it had to happen now and how he could have been so stupid as to use _that_ when it had not been necessary for something pathetic like the snake.

The last thing he heard was Fumu shouting his name before he lost consciousness.

* * *

"Whoa! How did that happen?"

"We have to be cautious. Whatever killed the snake might still be close by..."

"Yes, pay attention to the surroundings!"

Lying face down on the ground and hearing voices he couldn't place right now was not exactly how Meta Knight had imagined to awake. It didn't help that his head now hurt and he felt stupid because he had collapsed and that right before Fumu's eyes - after threatening her.

He tried to lift his head, but found that wasn't as easy as he had hoped it would be and fell right back down. That meant lying on the ground for a while then.

The voices of Bun, Lololo and Lalala had faded away, presumably because they had entered the cave and Meta Knight also couldn't hear Fumu. Considering she hadn't talked to the others she would have to either be somewhere close or inside the cave.

Meta Knight couldn't say he would care that much right now if she was inside the cave and had died, in fact that would solve a few problems or hinder them from ever appearing, but at the same time he didn't expect her to do something stupid again and he would somehow even miss her. Maybe...

But he didn't have to speculate on it for long. The rustling of some bushes announced Fumu's arrival only a few seconds later and she hadn't noticed Meta Knight was very much conscious.

"I have to follow them, but I can't just let _him_ keep lying on the ground!" That would have been surprisingly touching if Meta Knight had actually cared. But he didn't really care for Fumu's concerns about himself and wondered _why_ she even did care.

"Meta Knight?" He decided not to answer because he was interested what she would do then.

"Meta Knight!" Still no answer and he could hear Fumu muttering something under her breath, but didn't understand her words. She came closer to him and then stopped right beside him, obviously unsure what to do now.

What happened next was not what Meta Knight had expected because he had thought Fumu would never dare, but it was long overdue in a way.

"Arg!"

Fumu had kicked him where he wasn't protected by his mask or armor and that surprisingly hard. Meta Knight jumped away at once and shouted more in surprise than in pain, but Fumu had certainly reached her goal of getting a reaction from him.

"Serves you right." Meta Knight had to say that was pretty stupid of Fumu after the threats she had received, but he was also pretty surprised because that was far from what he had expected.

"Come on, Bun, Lololo and Lalala are already in the cave." She turned around without another word and went in direction of the cave, leaving Meta Knight to wonder about this unexpected turn of events. Whatever Fumu thought right now was beyond Meta Knight at the moment.

Meta Knight followed without commenting, still too perplexed because of what had happened.

Just as expected the inside of the cave was dark, but Meta Knight didn't care much for that fact. He was able to see well enough. Fumu, however, was not and Meta Knight wondered how she had managed until now. He wouldn't ask her, though. Something between them had obviously changed and not for the better.

He was aware of the fact that it was his own fault, but he had admittedly expected Fumu to react... differently. Her reaction consisted of something like defiance and anger right now when he had expected something like fear and terror.

After walking for a while Meta Knight could see light - sunlight. There had to be a hole in the ceiling and the flower Bun was searching for had to be there as well because every plant needed light.

"This is the Pyukii Flower!"

That settled it and both Fumu and Meta Knight went further in direction of the light.

But when they arrived they had to notice that Bun, Lololo and Lalala had managed to get into trouble again. The Pyukii Flower was far from harmless although it was pretty in a way.

It looked a little like a dark green cactus, but with leaves lighter in color than the rest at its base and weird pink balls of needles running up the petals. Inside those petals was a stigma resembling a pink cherry blossom flower on a tall stem and around it were eight neon green Venus flytrap-like heads whose stems were flexible and demonstrating that fact quite effectively.

Bun, Lololo and Lalala, and with them Kirby on Bun's back, had all been captured by one of the stems and were about to be eaten alive. Now Meta Knight had to ask himself the question of what to do about the situation. Helping them was the most obvious choice of course, but he could leave them to die just as well.

Fumu thought him heartless and cruel anyway, he himself had made sure of that, so if he let them die it would only prove to be the truth. But as he had told Fumu earlier already: Kirby was with them and he wouldn't let him die.

Meta Knight looked briefly at Fumu's face, illuminated not by the sunlight from above but the torch either Bun, Lololo or Lalala had left on the ground, and saw her angry expression. Seemed like she refused to speak to him now, but the message was clear: 'Save them or you'll regret it.'

He frowned because he was able to understand that expression for what it was and actually acted because of it.

In a flash he cut off the heads of the Venus flytraps that were holding the three and all of them fell to the ground, groaning in some pain from the fall.

"Bun! Are you alright?"

"Huh? Sis, what are you doing here?" Fumu came running over, now a clearly worried expression on her face. She spared Meta Knight, who was only a few meters away and eyed the Pyukii Flower carefully, not even a glance and focused solely on Bun and Kirby on his back.

"I was worried so I followed you." Bun wanted to answer something, but Meta Knight didn't feel like wasting any more time and interrupted.

"Obviously that thing is carnivorous." Now he had the undivided attention. "And if I had to make a guess, I would say that Dedede knew it's the only cure but dangerous."

Fumu frowned at him, the other three looked interested at him.

"Damn, so Dedede knew from the start?"

"I think so." Fumu still frowned at him and Meta Knight wondered if he would get another expression from her anytime soon. "I will take care of it."

"Like you so marvelously took care of everything else so far?" Meta Knight narrowed his eyes at Fumu, and Bun, Lololo and Lalala looked at them in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember that lizard for example? _He_ got rid of it. Or better yet: do you remember the snake at the entrance? Meta Knight killed it, but collapsed for no apparent reason soon after." Meta Knight knew his eyes flashed red for a split second and he knew Fumu saw it, but he didn't care right now.

"Just because you don't comprehend the reason doesn't mean there was none."

"Then explain it."

Instead of explaining Meta Knight went closer to Fumu, stopping right beside her and whispered something so that the others couldn't hear him.

"I applaud you for the ability to take what I said not seriously or act like you do, but remember I was absolutely serious. And you are on the best way to see that for yourself." He left to fight the Puykii Flower without another word and Bun, Lololo and Lalala looked confused after him.

As soon as he was in reach the five remaining Venus flytrap heads attacked, tried to catch him, bite him to death.

The Pyukii Flower certainly only had a limited range, a fact that would have been good for Meta Knight because it meant he could just send Sword Beams and be done with it. Unfortunately though that was the problem. He couldn't just use Sword Beams and destroy it, that would be the worst thing he could do in fact.

Meta Knight needed the Pyukii Flower intact, more specifically Kirby did, needed one of the pollen and the only way to accomplish that was close combat. And he loathed to admit it, but that was a problem. Destroying would be no problem, but he couldn't risk it and evading all attacks and getting to the pollen proved to be near impossible.

He was able to dodge the Puykii Flower's attacks for now, but with five opponents attacking at random intervals and no real way to fight back, Meta Knight had to realize that approach wouldn't do him any good.

As soon as he saw an opportunity he jumped back and out of reach for the flower, but not without being grazed by one of the fangs on his right arm. He hissed more in anger than in pain as he landed beside Fumu and Bun and out of reach for the flower.

"You came here to save Kirby, didn't you?"

Obviously he had missed part of a conversation between Fumu and Bun because Bun was angry at Fumu for some reason. Fumu looked slightly disappointed, but that was at least something different from the frown he himself got all the time.

"Picnic... picnic..." Then Kirby spoke, although he was still asleep, and attracted all attention to himself. Obviously he looked really forward to a picnic. As if the fact he still held onto the chocolate for the picnic wasn't proof enough.

"You still look forward to the picnic... This is why I don't like little kids." Meta Knight would really have liked to comment because Bun was a kid himself, but before he could, Bun had run off in direction of the Pyukii Flower with a battle cry.

"Bun!"

"I told you he is an idiot." Meta Knight couldn't resist that before he ran after Bun to try and stop him before it was too late. But Bun had already reached the Puykii Flower and although he managed to evade the first few attacks through sheer dumb luck, he was captured in the end.

Meta Knight was on his way to save Bun because this time he would use his weapon, although it could mean the Pyukii Flower's destruction, but luck wasn't on his side. Before he was close enough to help Bun in any way, the four remaining heads had made him trip and he fell to the ground, at the same time losing the grip on his weapon.

Two of the heads came crashing down on him and Meta Knight couldn't get away in time. One head bit into his left arm and kept it in place, the other went for his back and pierced through the cape, both of them drawing blood and making Meta Knight cry out in pain.

At least his head didn't hurt anymore...

The other two heads couldn't really seem to decide what to do, until one decided to approach Bun and the other Meta Knight in the end.

Meta Knight would really have liked to save Bun, but right now he had enough problems himself. His right arm was free, but without his sword that didn't help him much and the head directly in front of him slowly approached and made ready to sink its fangs into Meta Knight.

He had the protection of his mask, but his eyes were unprotected and should one fang manage to hit an eye or any other part not protected between his eyes, Meta Knight was sure he would either die or at the very least experience excruciating pain.

He struggled to get free, but other than causing himself pain he accomplished nothing and the Venus flytrap head came ever closer. It took its time as if enjoying Meta Knight's struggle and, as far as Meta Knight could tell, the other head did as well because until now he had heard no screams of pain from Bun.

But Meta Knight had to get free, he wouldn't be killed by some stupid plant! Admittedly it was a little of last resort because of the situation he was in and he would certainly regret it, but he saw no other way right now.

Although one head pierced his cape, he transformed it into his pair of bat wings. With them he managed to throw off the two heads holding him down, but paid a heavy price for it. His right wing was torn and he left puddles of blood whenever he kept standing in one place for too long.

Now all five heads, even the one holding Bun, focused their attention on him. Before they could attack him, however, Meta Knight dashed for his sword in pain and as soon as he got it, threw it at the stem holding Bun.

He hit and Bun fell down - right onto the leaves and then into the inside of the flower.

"Ah!" That had been Fumu's scream and Meta Knight distantly wondered if she had been silent until now or if he just hadn't heard her.

The four remaining heads completely ignored Bun and attacked Meta Knight, who could do nothing without his weapon that now stuck out of the wall and was only barely able to escape the attacks.

The shrewd pain of his right wing didn't get any better and with every movement he spread more of his blood on the ground. Slowly but surely he was feeling dizzy because of the blood loss and when he hit the wall with his back and left a bloody trail on it, he was sure the next thing he would feel would be even more pain.

But that pain never came. The Puykii Flower tried, but Meta Knight was just out of reach for it. He took a deep breath and looked at it, trying to decide what to do now. He couldn't fight, not without his sword and not in the condition he was currently in.

He didn't have to. The Pyukii Flower suddenly stopped all movement and all four heads let out a terrible scream. Bun had, unnoticed or simply ignored by the Pyukii Flower, climbed up the stem and had taken some of the pollen.

"Sis! It's up to you!" He threw it at Fumu, who caught it and went to Kirby with it right away.

In the meantime the Venus flytrap heads had focused all their attention on Bun, giving Meta Knight the opportunity to stumble in direction of Kirby, Fumu, Lololo and Lalala. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bun drop onto the leaves again when the heads tried to get him.

Bun ran away as fast as possible and was lucky to only be grazed on his shoulder by one of the attacks, but then he tripped and all seemed lost for him.

But at exactly that moment Kirby awakened and spit the Noddy he had swallowed back out. Instead of Bun the Pyukii Flower ate the Noddy and Bun used the opportunity to get back up and run away as fast as possible and out of reach.

Meanwhile Meta Knight had reached the others and, much to his chagrin, had collapsed beside Fumu. Blood seeped out of his torn wing and, something he had ignored until now, out of his left arm and soon he was lying in a pool of his own blood. If he didn't do something fast he would lose consciousness again.

"Seems like you will lose consciousness again, doesn't it?" The words were nasty in a way, but at least Fumu's expression wasn't a frown anymore. In fact she seemed clearly worried, something Meta Knight just couldn't understand.

"Thank you, I wouldn't have noticed myself!" It was absolutely unnecessary to snap at her, but Meta Knight wasn't sure how else to react to the situation. At least she frowned at him again.

"Sorry for worrying about you! I won't bother again!"

"Good, I don't understand why you worry anyway..." Meta Knight wasn't sure if he would have admitted that had it not been for the blood loss, but it didn't matter. The injuries took their toll and already for the second time this day Meta Knight lost consciousness. What a crappy day.

* * *

Idiot. Meta Knight really was an idiot at times and now he had passed out again. If it wasn't for the injuries Fumu would have kicked him again.

"Meta poyo?" Fumu had completely forgotten about the others because of Meta Knight. Kirby looked worriedly at Meta Knight as did Lololo and Lalala. Bun was panting heavily and just now Fumu realized that he wasn't in danger of being eaten by the Puykii Flower anymore.

"Don't worry, Kirby. He will be fine... I think." Maybe she should have left that last part unsaid. "Are you alright, Bun?" And that was why she chose to ask something else.

Bun was wheezing, but seemed fine except for the scratch on his shoulder. "Fine." He managed to force out that one word and then went back to simply breathing. One less problem at least.

That left only Meta Knight because the Pyukii Flower was negligible right now. It didn't seem happy that Meta Knight and Bun had escaped, but because all of them were quite some distance out of reach for it, there was no danger from it.

"Does anyone of you have an idea how to help him?"

Lololo and Lalala were the ones to answer. "He heals faster than other people."

"So he will be fine."

"How do you know that?" Fumu looked at them, surprised at their knowledge. Lololo and Lalala in turn looked uncomfortable at each other.

"Eh... the last injuries he had healed fast as well."

"So it is logical that these will also heal fast."

That did seem like something they had made up right now, but why? Had they known Meta Knight before? But that seemed unlikely, after all Meta Knight had never shown any sign of knowing them before like he had with Kirby. Though Fumu had to admit that what they said was true.

"But we still have to stop the bleeding. Bun, what about the equipment I took with me on the boat?"

Bun hadn't been paying any attention to them. He had glared at the Pyukii Flower and was a little startled when Fumu suddenly asked him a question.

"Huh? What?"

"The equipment, Bun."

"Oh... Behind that rock." He gestured at some rock, but turned back in direction of the Pyukii Flower and ignored them again.

Fumu went over to the rock and found the bag she had prepared herself. Thankfully Bun had taken it along. Just when she was on her way back, she saw Bun move.

She didn't know what he did at first, then she saw something fly through the air. One of the Pyukii Flower's heads snapped at it, but missed and it became clear what Bun had thrown when the Pyukii Flower caught fire. He had thrown the torch.

"Bun!"

"That is revenge for almost eating me." Fumu should really be worrying about this behavior, but couldn't bring herself to that. Now at least it wouldn't hurt anyone else.

She just sighed and went back to Meta Knight's side, hoping that her bag would help her. She had band-aids, though those wouldn't really help in this case, and she had duct tape. She wondered why she even had that with her, but it also wouldn't help her that much right now. Fixing those wounds with band-aids and duct tape would seriously hurt she guessed and she wasn't quite sure if that would even work. And if band-aids and duct tape couldn't fix it, there was a serious problem.

Thankfully she also had bandages, though she had yet to figure out how exactly to bandage the wing. She would have asked Meta Knight, but as he was a little indisposed right now, she would have to figure out something herself. On second thought, though, she wouldn't have asked him because he would have been seriously uncooperative.

"So..." Lololo and Lalala seemed a little overwhelmed now, Bun didn't seem to care and Kirby looked sadly at Meta Knight. Great.

* * *

**A/N:** Actually I planned for this chapter to end up differently, but I can't say I'm sad with the way it did turn out in the end.

So after some alarming things Meta Knight did here or there, now something more than alarming. I think (actually I know) some future chapters will end up quite dark, so you have been warned for the future. ;)


	12. 12

**12. 12**

Seeing Meta Knight do something potential useful was a little surprising for Fumu. Maybe she was just being mean because of their past experiences now, but as far as she could tell he really didn't do much, except for the times when a demon beast attacked.

Now she saw him and Kirby on a hill right outside of the village and Meta Knight actually tried to teach Kirby speaking. She was sure he had noticed her right away, but didn't seem to mind her presence that much, a fact that was a little surprising, considering their far from friendly interactions in the last four days - if it could even be called that.

Fumu had managed to bandage his wing in the end, but Meta Knight hadn't been grateful at all. As soon as he had regained consciousness he had first snapped at Fumu, then had gotten his sword back and had then left them behind to find their way out alone. He had left Fumu angry and the others in confusion because so far they hadn't seen Fumu's and Meta Knight's arguments.

In fact his overall behavior was a little - actually highly - worrying and it was really, _really_ surprising to see him do what he did right now.

"Meda Nigh."

"Come on Kirby, you were able to pronounce my name correctly before. Why not now?"

"Poyo."

"That is not exactly an answer to my question."

It was really weird to see Meta Knight and Kirby like that. Fumu couldn't say Kirby was any different from his usual self, but Meta Knight was. Though she had to admit that he always acted differently around Kirby and until now she had not been able to learn of the exact reason for that. Maybe only because they obviously knew each other before and had always been like that, maybe not.

"Meta."

"See? You can pronounce that correctly, so why not the whole name?" Kirby frowned in concentration for a moment.

"Meta... Knight."

"Good, I knew you could do it."

"Poyo!" Kirby smiled brightly and launched himself at Meta Knight with a hug. Meta Knight didn't move away and Fumu wondered where that suddenly came from because last time Meta Knight had tried to get rid of Kirby as soon as possible.

"Try some other names. I know you can speak some, but are just too lazy to do so most of the time."

"Poyo poy!" Kirby waved his arms around and his face had a slightly angry expression at that accusation.

"Prove it."

Now Fumu was interested and looked on with curiosity. And indeed Kirby was able to pronounce most names Meta Knight told him correctly, although Fumu had to notice she didn't know most of them.

"Nova."

"I knew you were just too lazy. Now because she has been watching the whole time try Fumu's name." Fumu was startled when Meta Knight suddenly acknowledged her presence, but Kirby didn't care and smiled brightly at her.

"Fumu! Fumu!" He pronounced her name correctly and then came running over, happily jumping up and down and smiling at her.

"Hey, Kirby." She smiled back at him, but then took a look at Meta Knight and her smile froze. He watched her with narrowed eyes for a moment, but then turned around and made a motion as if to spread his wings and fly away. He thought better of it and just walked away, though.

Ever since the Pyukii Flower had injured him, Fumu hadn't seen Meta Knight without his wings. She hadn't seen him often since then and they certainly hadn't interacted except for the glares they sent each other (making everyone else wonder because in public they had gotten along rather well so far), but she had wondered about the wings since the first time she had seen him four days ago.

There was no bandage anymore and it also didn't bleed, but the damage to his wing was evident. His injuries might heal faster than anyone else's, but there had been so much damage that most people would have noticed. He held his wings so that he hid most of it, but still the tears inside the right one were plain to see.

Many of the villagers wondered about that and had asked him, but he had answered none of them. Bun, however, had. He had told them what had happened (highly exaggerated at times) and after he had mentioned that Meta Knight had saved him, everyone was pretty impressed.

But of course they missed the knowledge Fumu had. She had been threatened and she was pretty sure Meta Knight would really go through with those threats if she ever pushed him too far. The fact he had repeated his threats made that clear, though she would have believed him after only one time as well.

What surprised her the most was her own behavior, though. Of course she had been frightened, but she had managed to react with anger and take him aback a little at least. He had been back to his more or less normal self soon after, but it was at least a little success.

What also confused her was the first time he had lost consciousness. He had said she couldn't comprehend it and that obviously meant the reason was a little more complex. She would have liked to ask Meta Knight himself, but wouldn't dare that right now.

A month ago she would have done it as soon as she got the chance, now however the changes of Meta Knight attacking or even killing her were higher than of him answering her. It was a sad fact that only in a few weeks time his behavior had extremely changed for the worse and she couldn't do anything about it.

Talking to him would only worsen his mood and doing nothing wouldn't help at all.

She would really miss the times when he was only sarcastic and not dangerous.

* * *

None of the Waddle Dees really knew Meta Knight. That wasn't even that bad, they didn't really care for him and, as far as they could tell, he didn't care for them. That fact made it absolutely unnecessary to know each other, especially because Meta Knight rarely entered the castle.

The king had forbidden them from letting him enter anyway, but some of the Waddle Dees had to notice that letting him enter wasn't that bad all of the time. After all he had helped them when there had been many of those weird creatures in the past, and most Waddle Dees were sure they either wouldn't have won without him, or it would have taken a long time and many of them would have been injured in the end.

So although they were ordered to keep him out, actually all Waddle Dees would let him in if he so desired. Maybe the king would shout at them, but he did so anyway for various reasons. He might think they were stupid, but they were far from it. They realized Dedede didn't care for them and, where Meta Knight also didn't care for them, him at least they owed something for helping them.

Dedede could order what he wanted, they would let him in anyway.

* * *

Captain Waddle Doo was a little torn, for quite some time now. He should be a faithful servant of King Dedede, but lately he had a little trouble with that. That was Meta Knight's fault. No, actually it was the king's fault, but it had been Meta Knight who had pointed it out.

The king should worry about the wellbeing of everyone else, but instead Dedede did endanger all villagers at times. His targets were obviously Kirby and Meta Knight, but more often than not he managed to endanger others as well and that was not how a king should act at all.

Waddle Doo would still do what the king ordered him to do, he _was_ the king after all, but recently he had noticed that not all of his orders were for the good of someone else other than himself. He still remembered the order to capture Fumu, Kirby and Bun almost a month ago, and although he had obeyed, it had not felt right.

One reason why he had freed them without the king's knowledge later.

That, however, had also been wrong and he had felt bad about freeing them although it had been the right thing to do... in a way. Now it was becoming more and more confusing.

Fact was Meta Knight had told the truth when he had said that the king had made some demon beast up, whereas the king had lied to everyone. Alone that was enough to earn some of Waddle Doo's respect.

Another thing was the fact that he had helped himself and the Waddle Dees in something like a crisis. The day many of those demon beasts had appeared, he had been a real help. So although the king obviously hated Meta Knight, Waddle Doo couldn't say he did.

But there was the order to keep Meta Knight out of the castle and that was a whole new problem because it had been a direct order from the king. Waddle Doo couldn't do anything about that, but he just figured that he wasn't at the gates most of the time anyway and it wouldn't be his problem...

Maybe this dilemma really was Meta Knight's fault...

* * *

None of the villagers could say they didn't admire Meta Knight in some way. Meta Knight wouldn't like to hear that, but it was the case. Ever since he had first saved the village from the demon beast Octacon, the villagers admired him, who else could have saved them after all?

There was the legend of the Star Warrior Kirby and he had appeared now, but everyone agreed that Meta Knight was just cooler than Kirby. Kirby was great, everyone loved him, but Meta Knight was just... Meta Knight.

Everyone agreed that he was being mysterious and being mysterious meant he was cool, even the male population wholeheartedly agreed with that. And being cool meant he was also interesting, one reason why everyone tried to talk to Meta Knight whenever possible.

Sadly Meta Knight wasn't the type to talk to the villagers, but in fact that was all the more reason why everyone tried that much harder. Kirby was ever friendly and everyone liked him for it, but the problem was no one was really able to have a conversation with him because he wasn't able to speak that much. Meta Knight was and that was enough reason for everyone to try whenever possible.

Of course Meta Knight disappeared when he got the opportunity, or didn't even enter the village, but most heroes were like that, no? Maybe he was just shy or didn't want to endanger them and that really wasn't a bad thing.

Meta Knight would either despair or laugh if he ever heard those opinions.

* * *

Meta Knight was absolutely cool and Kirby was great to play with. That at least was Bun's opinion.

He really envied Fumu at times because she always talked to Meta Knight and he really wondered what those two talked about.

Then again when he had last seen them talk to each other they had been really unfriendly. Meta Knight had been angry and that had caused Fumu to be angry at him. Bun had been glad that Meta Knight hadn't been angry at him then.

Meta Knight was still cool, but maybe it wasn't that bad that they didn't talk that much when he thought of that. He had saved Bun two times already and while Bun certainly was grateful, it might be best not to repeat that.

And there still was Kirby. Bun was pretty sure Kirby would also help him if he ever was in danger again. Kirby also was always happy and played with him and the other kids.

"Hey, Bun!" And Kirby was here right now.

Fumu came walking with him, but as soon as Kirby saw Bun, he came running over, smiling.

"Hey, wanna play something with me and the others?"

"Yes!" Normally he would answer with 'poyo' and as a result left both Fumu and Bun a little surprised.

"Great!" But it didn't really matter Bun supposed. "You also wanna play, Sis?" And surprisingly even Fumu seemed to think about it. Most of the times she would prefer to read a book.

"That depends. What are you playing?"

"Uh... hide and seek." Bun, Iroo and Hohhe had done nothing of the sort, but since Honey had requested that game, they had been debating. But the chance of Fumu playing hide and seek was higher than with some other game.

"Okay, I'll play with you."

Reading those books all the time couldn't be good, so playing with them sure was healthier.

* * *

"Fumu suspected something, didn't she?"

"Yeah... but she's smart so it's no wonder."

Ever since Lololo and Lalala had more or less slipped up and told Fumu that Meta Knight would heal fast, they had wondered about that.

"I wonder why she didn't ask something about that later..."

"Maybe she just forgot?"

Fumu didn't know it, but she had been correct when she thought that Lololo and Lalala had known Meta Knight before. Meta Knight might have known them, they couldn't be completely sure, but it was no wonder he didn't recognize them any longer.

"He didn't recognize us, at least I don't think he did."

"It's no wonder. Maybe he would have recognized Lola, but not the two of us as we are now."

Lola, the demon beast Lololo and Lalala combined had been at one point in their lives, before they had been deemed useless by Nightmare. Of course they had known Meta Knight, every demon beast had. He had been a thorn in many demon beasts' sides because he was stronger than them; other weak demon beasts, like they themselves had been, had admired him for that same strength.

They had never fought alongside him, but had heard many tales from other demon beasts about what he had done. Most of them had been about his gruesome deeds, his cruelty, his coldness and heartlessness.

Then he had suddenly disappeared, rumors saying Nightmare himself had killed him. And because no one knew a reason for his disappearance and Nightmare of course didn't tell what had happened, his death at Nightmare's hands had been the general opinion. Until he had reappeared quite some time later, fighting against demon beasts and with the Galaxy Soldier Army.

Nightmare had been furious for days after he had found out.

Nearing the end of the war against the GSA, Nightmare had found another reason to be furious at Meta Knight. Lola of course never knew if all the things he heard were true, but Nightmare's mood made it obvious that at least _something_ wasn't to his liking.

And the rumors Lola heard were quite astounding. Meta Knight, the same Meta Knight that everyone knew to be absolutely heartless and one of the strongest demon beasts, wielded a legendary sword, forged by the race of light, Photoron. Galaxia, stolen by Kirisaken on Nightmare's orders, but now in Meta Knight's hand.

Lololo and Lalala had seen him wield it, the legendary Galaxia. Now they knew it was true, when in the past they hadn't known. And with the rumor of Meta Knight wielding Galaxia, there had been one other rumor. The rumor that Nightmare could not conquer the universe as long as Meta Knight wielded it.

They didn't know if that really was the case, but if it was, Nightmare wouldn't ignore Meta Knight forever. And then all people in Dreamland would be in danger.

* * *

Escargon had known that Meta Knight was dangerous from the start. The fighting power was obvious, he had killed some of the demon beasts quite easily after all. He was also intelligent, far more intelligent than most people in Dreamland. But that were not the things that made him really dangerous.

What made him dangerous was his unpredictability.

Meta Knight acted normal around the villagers, unfriendly yes, but nothing that would make them suspect something. With others he acted differently.

Since Meta Knight had almost killed Dedede, Escargon had watched him whenever possible. Especially the last four days had been intriguing to say the least. Escargon had been in the village two times and he had seen Meta Knight both times. He had also seen Fumu, and where those two normally got along rather well, they had only sent glares at each other then.

Seemed just like Fumu had also found out that he was dangerous.

But talking to Meta Knight was entertaining nonetheless. Maybe it was because of his unpredictability, maybe not. Fact was he was more intelligent than anyone else around and that was enough to make him interesting.

Escargon was no idiot and knew that Meta Knight also knew that, and he also knew that Meta Knight had tried (and succeeded) to get him on his side early on already. Maybe Escargon should feel flattered because the only other person Meta Knight deliberately talked to was Fumu, but actually he couldn't care less.

So far only Meta Knight had had any advantages because of Escargon's knowledge, but soon that would change, Escargon would make sure of that.

He was interested to see Meta Knight's reaction if he asked for help actually. That he refused was unlikely even when he heard what that was about, but alone the notion of Meta Knight helping was a little hard to think of. Maybe he should recruit other help as well.

Escargon hadn't interacted much with Kirby so far, but he was willing to bet that he would help him as well. He seemed the type to help all those who asked and there still were other options. Just asking all of them would be the smartest thing to do actually.

Tomorrow he would do it - if Meta Knight didn't still look so angry then.

* * *

"Escargon!" Useless assistant, never to be found when it mattered. Dedede was bored and when he was bored everyone did well to either entertain him or stay away from him. The Waddle Dees he saw in the hallways did the smart thing and stayed away.

He was already on his way to the throne room anyway, so he might as well order a demon beast from Holy Nightmare to entertain himself. They always entertained him, though he had to admit it was incredibly annoying how all of them cost a fortune (though of course he didn't pay if he could prevent it) and were killed by Meta Knight or Kirby soon after he had ordered them.

His hate for Meta Knight resurfaced full force at his thoughts and thoughts about other demon beasts were instantly forgotten. Kirby was bad enough, the little pest had destroyed his throne room and it didn't matter what others said; Dedede knew it was the truth and he really, _really_... disliked Kirby. It was almost hate, but all his hate was directed at Meta Knight, so there was nothing left for Kirby.

Though even hate wasn't strong enough an emotion to describe how Dedede felt towards Meta Knight. He absolutely _despised_ Meta Knight and _nothing_ would _ever_ change that.

The only other things Dedede had ever felt towards Meta Knight were happiness when he had been injured or, and he hated to admit that, fear.

That... _demon_ had tried to kill him. Him, the great king of Dreamland! With those soulless red eyes he had looked at him and then... Nothing. Meta Knight had released him, but Dedede had seen it, had felt it, the killing intent.

And he had said so from the start: Meta Knight was dangerous, but no one believed him. Instead everyone hailed him as their hero, keeping that demon close to protect them from harm. No one even realized _he_ was the danger and would sooner or later turn on them all and do what they all hoped to be protected from.

Not even Escargon or that Fumu realized it, although both of them were quite smart. Dedede himself was the only one smart enough to realize the truth. Meta Knight would sooner or later attack him again and then everyone would know he spoke the truth!

Until then Dedede would try to get rid of Meta Knight, there had to be some demon beast capable of killing him.

* * *

Kirby had almost always fun since he had arrived in this village. Of course there were the times when Dedede sent a demon beast at Meta Knight or himself, but that was nothing new for Kirby, Nightmare had also made him fight demon beasts occasionally.

Though it was way more fun here than in Nightmare's fortress and he even had Meta Knight again after he had left so long ago. All in all Kirby was quite happy with the situation now.

Almost everyone was friendly to him and it was great to play with Bun, Iroo, Hohhe and Honey and sometimes even Fumu. Fumu especially Kirby liked really much, she helped him when he fought and wasn't sure what to do and she was nice. Not to everyone, though.

Contrary to popular belief Kirby was rather attentive, although he didn't show it most of the time. And he had paid attention to conversations between Meta Knight and Fumu and had to notice that, while they understood each other perfectly at times, there were also times when they didn't get along at all.

One such time was now.

Fumu's smile had instantly disappeared as soon as she had looked at Meta Knight earlier and he had only talked _about_ her and not _with_ her.

"Found ya, Kirby."

Oh... Maybe Kirby should have paid more attention to the game they were currently playing. In fact he hadn't paid much attention at all or he was just awful at hiding. Possibly the second because he had hidden behind a bush when there was a whole forest he could have hidden in nearby.

Bun had been the one searching and so far he had also found Iroo, Hohhe and Honey, who happened to choose similar great hiding places like Kirby. That only left Fumu, and because Kirby had actually seen her enter the forest, he knew it could take Bun quite some time before he found her.

"Do any of you have an idea where Sis is?"

"Forest poyo."

"Thanks, Kirby."

It might have been unfair to tell Bun, but he would still have to find her.

* * *

Ever since Meta Knight had reappeared and Kirby was with him, Customer Service had noticed that Nightmare's mood tended to be bad. Mood swings now consisted not of good mood and bad mood, but bad mood and even worse mood. At least he could be relatively sure he wouldn't end up dead because unlike those stupid demon beasts he was actually of real use.

At least he hoped Nightmare saw it the same way.

He could tolerate this kind of mood swings, he couldn't do anything against them after all and it would be foolish to try, but he didn't really understand the reason.

Sure, Kirby had the ability to copy other abilities and that certainly helped against other demon beasts, but it wouldn't do him any good against the Emperor of Darkness, Nightmare himself. Nightmare seemed to see that similar because he rarely spoke of Kirby, but more of Meta Knight.

And this Customer Service did not understand. Kirby had the potentially dangerous ability and not Meta Knight. He wasn't sure if Meta Knight even _had_ some ability, but that really was his fault because he had never gotten along with him and had therefore ignored him most of the time. But Nightmare had warned him that he didn't know what Meta Knight was capable of and that meant there had to be something.

Actually that made sense, after all Meta Knight had been known to execute orders to perfection in most cases and only with his sword that would be hardly possible. And although Customer Service had refused to pay too much attention to Meta Knight in the past, he had heard whispers. Whispers that were not to be ignored.

Especially the word 'darkness' could often be heard to be associated with Meta Knight and Customer Service had always wondered why exactly. His behavior in the past surely was enough for that, but Customer Service couldn't help but feel that that wasn't all there was to it. Nightmare was right, he really didn't know what Meta Knight was capable of and it proved to be rather annoying now.

Maybe he should have paid more attention to Meta Knight in the past.

But in the end it didn't really matter he supposed. There was no way Kirby or Meta Knight would defeat Nightmare, the Emperor of Darkness. Whatever 'darkness' there was, Nightmare would easily defeat Meta Knight if the time came, after all he was the _Emperor_ of Darkness.

* * *

"Of c-course, m-master Nightmare!"

Stuttering fools, all of them.

He looked after the hastily leaving demon beast with disdain. If it wasn't able to carry out his orders, it would die. A painful and slow death maybe or would he make it quick? It had been annoying like so many others, so if it should fail its death would be as painful as possible.

But killing his worthless servants wasn't important right now. He had others things to think about. Expanding his empire for example.

It went well, his army of demon beasts was far too superior for every other force in the universe to stand up to it and soon the whole universe would be his. There was some resistance, but ever since the Galaxy Soldier Army had been almost completely annihilated, there was no one who could really be dangerous to him and his goal of absolute domination.

The only ones that really were somewhat dangerous were Kirby and Meta Knight, but because it was only the two of them, Nightmare had neglected to kill them until now. Maybe it was time to change that?

But it really wasn't necessary. Meta Knight was the greater threat for sure, but until now he hadn't shown any intention of attacking Nightmare directly himself, at least not in the last few years. Why would that change now?

Meta Knight killed his demon beasts, but he had to realize that it was absolutely impossible for him to ever reach Nightmare and that would be the sole reason why he hadn't tried until now.

No, there really was no reason to hurry at all and sooner or later Meta Knight would die. It might be hard for only one demon beast to kill him, but if the need arose he could still send more of them.

Maybe he could even get Meta Knight on his side again. He had been loyal to a fault before he had betrayed Nightmare and traitors could never be trusted, so he might as well try to get him to switch sides again. Wouldn't that be absolutely ironic?

But for now it was entertaining enough. He wouldn't interfere himself, but there were still some _friends_ that would kill to meet Meta Knight again. Customer Service would be capable enough of sending demon beasts to that lousy king and if none of them survived, those _friends_ would get their chance.

Meta Knight would be delighted to meet them again as would they themselves and Nightmare.

* * *

How foolish of Fumu to enter the forest alone. Granted, it was the best hiding place around and a logical choice given all children were close to it, but still it was foolish. And she was pretty deep in the forest even, but Meta Knight assumed she didn't even notice, she didn't seem to notice much of anything but simply walked deeper and deeper into the forest.

Actually Meta Knight shouldn't care for Fumu, but he couldn't help but feel that if he didn't do it right now, Fumu would be in quite some trouble soon.

He had watched the children from afar out of boredom, only to notice that their game wasn't that entertaining when compared to his boredom. He would really have liked to repair his ship, but he lacked some things to do that right now and first had to find a way to get them.

So it meant watching the children and noticing that Fumu was far away with her thoughts and didn't really realize she was walking deeper and deeper into the forest. It became rather obvious when she almost walked into a tree but didn't even notice.

A few minutes later Fumu became aware of her surroundings again and had to realize that she was completely lost. It was pretty funny for Meta Knight to watch her confusion and because he had followed her not on the ground but high above in the trees, he was even sure she wouldn't notice him.

At least she didn't panic like many others would. She tried to retrace her steps, but soon had to realize that it was just impossible. In her state of absentmindedness she had not taken a straight path through the forest and had no idea where she was.

But Meta Knight took pity on her - sort of. He jumped from his tree and approached her from behind without her noticing.

"Seems to me like you are lost."

Fumu whirled around in surprise and almost fell down because of it. She had sucked in a breath in her surprise and now exhaled again. That had been unexpected for her.

"I- What are _you_ doing here?"

"Watching you. Though I wonder why I bothered."

That had been the wrong thing to say.

"_Why_ are you watching me?" Her expression was something between anger and surprise, Meta Knight couldn't really tell.

"Be glad I did. You are lost and without my help you won't find your way back out." Meta Knight knew it was the truth and so did Fumu. "I wonder, why are you lost? What had you thinking so much that you didn't even realize where you were going?"

Fumu involuntary tensed and Meta Knight thought he knew his answer. "Ah..." He left it at that for a few seconds and then began speaking again. "Did you notice we are inside a forest again? Well, it was a jungle last time, but it's almost the same." Direct hit.

"What do you mean?" She could pretend now, but Meta Knight had seen right through her.

He answered with laughing and Fumu looked a little disturbed because it was an absolutely humorless laughing. "Remember, I am more intelligent than the people you normally meet in your everyday life."

"Unfortunately."

"Oh? Is that resentment I hear in your voice?"

Just as expected she frowned at him like she did often now. But then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and her expression became almost neutral. She opened her eyes again and her almost neutral expression became serious.

"No, no it's not. I can't resent everyone else for the fact that you are more intelligent."

"That is not what I meant and you know it." Fumu stubbornly refused to say anything else after that and Meta Knight found himself slightly impressed because she didn't falter under his stare.

He turned around and began walking away after a few seconds, back in the direction Fumu had come from earlier. "Follow me." He couldn't ignore the feeling of déjà vu and involuntary remembered the last time he had told her that mere four days ago, and what they had said shortly before that.

_"Meta Knight, stop being so heartless!"_

_"I would call it realistic and not heartless. It would be heartless if I killed them myself."_

Heartless she had said. And now she was convinced he was heartless, cruel because he had made sure of that those four days ago. How he wished he was completely heartless at times, wished it was the truth. Then life wouldn't be so complicated.

And complicated it was. He was a demon beast and those normally didn't feel much at all. Hate, anger that was enough to mindlessly kill others and execute orders. Yet Meta Knight was able to experience other emotions as well and that made life complicated.

Demon beasts were able to feel other emotions, he didn't doubt that, but they chose not to. But Meta Knight had left Nightmare behind and he did feel, even if he showed it rarely enough, and he just wished it wasn't the case.

Kirby was the prime example of feeling other things than hate and anger and Meta Knight had always wondered how he had managed to survive like that. For him anger had always been essential in life and he couldn't just let go of it.

He had managed for some time without it, but it just was a part of him and being in this village didn't help. He didn't like being here, but he couldn't leave because in the last two months he hadn't been able to fix his ship.

The villagers were annoying, but they were also stupid and had their delusions about him. The only one who had truly realized what he was, was the person now walking behind him.

Meta Knight stopped and turned around to look at Fumu, truly look at her. She stopped as well and looked back at him warily, but Meta Knight didn't even notice.

She was still so young, yet she was the only one who had seen a glimpse of his true self, the only one who had already seen it before he had given in to his anger four days ago. It was impressive how she had handled the situation, others would have died only because they had received those threats.

Suddenly anger hit him full force. Anger at himself, Fumu, the situation, everything; it didn't matter. He clenched his fist and hit the closest tree without warning with as much force as he could muster. Fumu jumped in surprise.

The tree didn't care much for the hit, there was no damage done to it. Meta Knight wasn't sure how much damage he had done to his hand, though he didn't care much right now. There was pain, but it didn't matter. His eyes had turned red for a few seconds, but that also didn't matter. Fumu watched him with a shocked expression, but even that didn't really matter.

He took his hand back from the tree, distantly noticing that he could hardly move it, and then let himself fall against it, eyes closed. He remained like that for some time, until he remembered that Fumu was still there.

He opened his eyes again and looked at her. She looked worried. Because she wondered if he was in pain? Because she wondered what he would do next? Because she wondered if he had lost it now? Meta Knight couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

"Meta Knight..." She was at a loss for words and he couldn't blame her.

His anger was gone, replaced by a feeling similar to the one he had had after killing the Noddies, but not quite the same. He had the urge to laugh as he had done then, but stopped himself from doing it, Fumu would think him mad if he did.

"If you go in the direction we were going for another few minutes, you will leave the forest."

Fumu hesitated and looked like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it and left without another word.

Meta Knight kept standing in front of the tree, not even thinking about anything anymore. Then he let himself fall on his back and looked up at what little he could see of the sky through the leaves.

He had never wished more to be heartless than right now.

* * *

**A/N:** Someone is having issues... Serious issues.

Most creative title ever. Did anyone get why it's "12"? It's not that hard to guess. ;)


	13. Retribution

******A/N:** The final five. Five chapters left that are based on some of the episodes, after that there will be something else going on.

* * *

**13. ****Retribution**

The full moon shone brightly in the sky, until one lone cloud hid it from view, and left everything on the ground in darkness. The occupants of the castle didn't care much and most of them didn't even notice, for either they were already asleep or, wherever they were, there was enough light.

"Your Majesty, I'm finally finished!"

Dedede hadn't heard Escargon that excited for quite some time. Whatever it was, he seemed genuinely happy that he had succeeded.

"What is it?" Not that Dedede was really interested what it was that had Escargon that excited. In fact that black... thing Escargon had handed him seemed pretty boring and didn't excite Dedede at all.

"It's an instant camera." He did something and then continued speaking. "I do that... and after your face is duplicated, you can see it instantly!" Suddenly it seemed far more interesting than before.

"Let's test it!"

Dedede walked out of his throne room and posed in front of the night sky for Escargon to take a picture. "Take the picture!"

One flash later and Escargon held the picture the instant camera had taken in his hands. But before Escargon could even take a good look, Dedede had snatched it away. "Let me see!"

"How did it turn out?" Escargon watched over Dedede's shoulder as the picture slowly appeared in front of their eyes.

"You can take a good picture if you have a good model." But something about the picture was weird. Escargon backed away as soon as he could see it, an expression of fear on his face.

"That's a picture of a ghost!"

"A ghost?" Indeed there was something in the picture right behind him, though a ghost?

"It's a phenomenon where a ghost that has an attachment to this world appears in a photograph! Especially one that holds a grudge against someone..." Dedede might have been a little alarmed when he first heard what Escargon said, but on second thought it wasn't that bad.

"A grudge?" Dedede laughed. "Then it's great! It's interesting to have a ghost that resents me!" He laughed some more, threw the picture away and went back into the throne room, leaving a surprised Escargon behind.

Not five minutes later Dedede could be found in the throne room, sitting on his throne and trembling in fear.

* * *

If fog was no bad sign, Dedede didn't know what else was. Additionally it was also fog at night, a fact that made it even harder to see anything and it was scary. Fortunately right now he didn't care because he didn't see it, but if Mabel didn't tell him something soon, he would leave in frustration and see the fog again.

"Do you see anythin'?"

Mabel either didn't see anything or just didn't let herself be disturbed. She continued to move her hands in some weird gestures above her crystal ball and gave no indication that she had even heard Dedede. And Dedede really got impatient now.

"What is it?"

Now she even made some weird noises to her gestures and made a face as if she was in pain. If she didn't tell him what he wanted to know soon, he would leave and not come back in the near future.

"I see..." Why did she have to keep him in suspense now?

"What do you see?"

"I see a ghost. A ghost that holds a grudge against you is in your castle."

"There is a ghost in my castle?" To say Dedede was worried now was a huge understatement.

"Yes. I fear it will appear tonight."

Dedede left Mable with a serious expression on his face. He would be damned if Escargon knew how afraid he really was right now.

Escargon hadn't even noticed he had returned yet and seemed pretty bored from waiting. He yawned once and was a little surprised when Dedede suddenly jumped onto the tank Escargon had been waiting with.

"We're going back to the castle. Hurry up." Escargon turned the lights on and promptly drove in direction of the castle. Good, he didn't ask any questions.

"How did it go?" Obviously no such luck after all.

"It will appear tonight.

"So it was a ghost after all?"

"If the ghost appears, I'll put it on TV." His nervous laughing sounded terrible even to his own ears and it was no wonder when Escargon turned in his direction. It sounded also scared and Dedede knew this.

They drove in silence until they had almost reached the castle again and only then was Dedede brave enough to talk to Escargon again.

"My castle looks old on purpose, but it's actually new. There are no ghosts! The ghost and fortune teller are both frauds!" Now he had said it and he meant it. Ghosts just didn't exist.

"Then what about the ghost in the picture?" That was the question, wasn't it?

"It must have been some mistake..." Dedede would have liked to sound more confident right then, but he just couldn't. Two seconds later it didn't even matter any more because something else became more important then.

The drawbridge was suddenly closing although Dedede and Escargon were still on it in the tank.

"What's this?"

"Brake, brake!"

Of course it was no use. The bridge was closed without stopping and the tank, Dedede and Escargon still inside, crashed loudly onto the ground. Dedede and Escargon were thrown out of it and the bridge closed completely.

"What happened with the bridge?"

"That must have been the ghost."

"Don't talk nonsense!" There was no way things like ghosts existed. There. Was. No. Way.

Unfortunately the noises from inside the castle seemed to prove him wrong. Through the thick fog that had not disappeared at all, but seemed to become thicker by the minute, a rattling noise could be heard and a silhouette appeared in the doorway to the inside of Dedede's castle.

"AHH!"

Dedede grabbed Escargon just to know someone else was there with him, but couldn't look away from the doorway. It was almost like he was compelled to look at the slowly closer coming silhouette and he just couldn't look away, no matter how hard he told himself to do just that.

"Are you injured, your Majesty?" Turned out it had just been Waddle Doo and Dedede felt incredibly stupid because of it. And angry because Waddle Doo had been too stupid to keep the bridge down.

"_What_ were you doing?"

"Can't you even raise and lower the bridge correctly?"

"The bridge has been raising of its own accord for some mysterious reason..."

"We don't want to hear your excuses! Investigate the cause at once!"

There really was a ghost. There was no other explanation Dedede could think of. He looked around in fear and really, there above the castle's wall was a ghost!

It looked as in the picture, an oval shaped head with two black holes where there should have been eyes, another hole for a mouth. It looked almost transparent and its colors were hard to make out, but Dedede guessed it was something like grey. He was surprised at himself that he even noticed these things.

Then he turned around in absolute panic and threw himself to the ground, screaming loudly.

"It's here! Don't come near me!"

"Your Majesty? Are you alright?" He had forgotten about Escargon... Dedede looked around frantically, saw Escargon's worry and Waddle Doo's confusion, but no ghost.

"It's nothing!" He leapt up hastily and tried to look convincing. For good measure he even laughed, but because he himself noticed it wasn't as convincing as he would have liked, he left Escargon and Waddle Doo behind and entered the castle.

"Your Majesty?" Stupid ghost.

* * *

Her mother really didn't help the situation with her pacing. In fact it made everyone present even more nervous and Fumu just wished she would stop.

"A ghost, it was definitely a ghost!"

"Memu..."

Her father looked worried at her mother, but Fumu couldn't tell why exactly. He followed her every move, but didn't try to stop her from pacing.

Why her parents had made her wait in the hallway for Dedede's return of all people, was a mystery to Fumu. He was the king, although he rarely acted like it, but the chance of Dedede being the culprit was higher than of him having an idea how to solve the problem.

After twenty minutes of waiting and the endless annoyance that was her mother's pacing, Dedede at least finally returned from wherever he had been, Escargon right behind him.

"Your Majesty!"

All three of them walked up to them, Fumu at least did. Her parents were more running than walking.

"What's it?" Dedede looked a little annoyed because he was stopped, Escargon didn't seem to care.

"Your Majesty... what is..."

"What is happening in the castle?" Her father had seemed hesitant, but her mother had no such qualms. A serious expression was on her face and it was rather clear that she hadn't asked for an answer but had demanded it.

"Huh? What is happenin'?" Either Dedede was suddenly a really good actor or he really didn't know what was going on. His expression was one of absolute confusion.

"Well... we saw... something..."

"It was a ghost!"

"A ghost?" Dedede went deathly pale for a moment and looked at Escargon unsurely. "Parm... I would think you had better sense..." Fumu took her chance to unsettle Dedede further. He looked nervous anyway and Fumu couldn't say she was sorry for what she told him now, even if she herself was a little unnerved because of what was going on.

"I also saw it!" Dedede had barely finished his sentence when she told him that. Now his nervous expression was obvious.

"There were footsteps behind me and when I turned around, there was a ghost!" Nervous became scared and Fumu wasn't sorry in the least. She guessed that ghost was actually sent by Nightmare, though Dedede didn't seem to know. She couldn't say she was happy to have any ghost in the castle, but if Dedede was scared of it, she could live with it.

"My story is even more terrible!" And it became even better. "It happened when I was watching TV this evening. Suddenly a gust of wind blew the windows open and I went to close them again. When I did that suddenly a ghost appeared! I shut the curtains, but when I turned around it was in the living room!"

Her mother paused dramatically. "I've never been that scared before."

Dedede was pale again and Fumu would have laughed if that ghost wasn't potentially dangerous. So far it had attacked no one and if she considered that, it was unlikely it would in the future. But of course it had to have some sort of purpose and that wouldn't be to simply scare everyone.

Escargon, she noticed, didn't look quite as pale and shocked as Dedede.

"How was my experience in comparison?" Her father now treated it like a contest of sorts she noticed. That was a little weird.

"This evening, when I was in the wine cellar, the bottles rose into the air before my eyes. That has to be the action of a ghost..."

Dedede laughed loudly, obviously a poor attempt to show he didn't believe them. "Yeah, I get it. You're all joking with me!"

"No, that's not true."

"We put Bun to bed early because it was dangerous!" That logic was obviously flawed if the ghost had managed to enter their living room, but pointing it out would only sent her mother into a panic attack. Fumu doubted Bun would be asleep anyway.

"Did you download a demon beast?" Maybe asking directly would give her some answers.

"What? No!" He seemed actually angry at that suggestion and Fumu wondered what that meant. Ghosts didn't just suddenly appear and a demon beast was the most likely explanation. Unfortunate then that Dedede obviously really had no idea and was just as clueless as everyone else.

"What about the skeleton in the dungeons?" That question was pretty irrelevant right now and she wondered why her father even asked. Maybe just because it was also scary.

"You know about it, too! That's just a fake to stir up the mood."

"I can't even go to the restroom because it's so scary!"

"Why was the wine floating?" Now Fumu had to say something as well, just to annoy Dedede some more.

"And what about the footsteps?"

Predictably that was too much for Dedede. "Silence! Silence! Silence! There are no ghosts!" Yes, he really had no idea what was going on. If his shouting wasn't indication enough, then the fact that he ran away through the hallways, still shouting "there are no ghosts!"

"Your Majesty?" Her parents were left dumbfounded and Fumu could certainly understand why. Great King of Dreamland indeed.

* * *

All this talk about ghosts got to him. He would never admit it out loud, but it really got to him. Though he had overreacted a little anyway. If there was a ghost, there certainly also was a way to get rid of it. And he knew who definitely knew a way.

"Welcome to the Holy Nightmare Demon Beast-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I want a demon beast that specializes in exterminating ghosts."

"It is unfortunate, but I can't comply with your order because of your unpaid bill."

"What?" What a jerk, and he didn't even seem like he was sorry for that. "But I need it right now!"

"You'll receive your order as soon as we confirm your payment." With that Customer Service was gone and left Dedede in anger and frustration. And darkness.

The lights flickered on and off and if Dedede had been afraid before, now he was even more so. "Wh-who's there?" Of course that was not laughing he heard. No, there was nothing. Though maybe it was a good idea to leave his throne room while there still was light. And of course he only ran because he was in a hurry...

The gloomy hallway he was in after leaving his throne room wasn't that much better. There was no absolute darkness, he could see well enough in fact, but the feeling of... anxiety just wouldn't leave him. Though of course it was ridiculous because there was nothing.

"That's ridiculous! What's going on?" Anger was better, definitely better. Someone was just playing a prank on him, he was sure.

Until he heard steps and laughing again. "_There were footsteps behind me and when I turned around there was a ghost!" _He really didn't want to remember that right now.

"There are no ghosts! I'll just have to find out who makes those steps!"

Without turning, Dedede walked back in direction of the throne room. Slowly the steps became louder and louder, but Dedede didn't turn around to see who was causing them.

"There are no ghosts, there are no ghosts, there are no ghosts..." Then he heard this eerie laughing again, laughing that just couldn't be from a living person. He went completely rigid, now too afraid to even move.

_"I fear it will appear tonight."_ Why did he have to remember Mabel's prediction now? It didn't help to dispel his fears, on the contrary, it made everything much worse.

The steps hadn't stopped, had even gotten closer and closer, but Dedede hadn't even noticed, too focused on his thoughts about ghosts. When someone bumped into him from behind, he couldn't help but scream in fear.

"WAH!"

An identical scream came from behind, and when Dedede finally turned around, he saw just who had bumped into him.

"Your Majesty?"

"Escargon?"

"I heard footsteps and I thought there might be a ghost..." Fear had been replaced by anger. That was stupid! There was no ghost and not only was he himself scared of something that didn't exist, but so was Escargon. Escargon really deserved the hit he got from Dedede.

"I don't want excuses, investigate the situation!" Escargon still held his head when he answered.

"I can't! This kind of situation isn't my specialty!" He hadn't even finished his sentence as he was already running away.

"Wait!" Dedede only caught a glimpse of him before Escargon had reached his room and the door banged shut, leaving Dedede alone in the spooky and gloomy hallway.

* * *

"Escargon! Hey Escargon! Hey!" Dedede rapped loudly at the door, but Escargon had locked it and there was no way Dedede could enter. He tried to enter for a few more seconds, then he suddenly stopped and walked away, his steps fading away fast.

"How cruel of you to ignore his problems."

"Considering that I am the one to cause them that shouldn't surprise you."

"True enough."

Meta Knight didn't even deign to look at Escargon. He had moved behind the doors as not to be seen by Dedede when the doors were open, but hadn't even looked away from the book he was reading since Escargon had entered his room.

That wasn't surprising, but the fact that he read a book on marine biology was curious. The fact he only held the book with his left hand was also curious because Meta Knight had done everything with his right hand before.

"You are interested in marine biology?" Meta Knight closed the book and put it back to the place from where he had taken it, then he faced Escargon.

"No."

"Then why did you read it? There are certainly more interesting subjects to be found here."

"I read it because Fumu told me it's her favorite subject." That was the reason? Escargon wondered a little when and why Fumu had told him that and why Meta Knight even remembered it. And why this was a reason for him to read something about it.

"It's quite dull. No wonder you didn't ask Fumu for help." Meta Knight's piercing look made Escargon almost have second thoughts about asking him now. "What did you do to Dedede while I was subjected to the boredom that is marine biology?"

"Nothing much actually. Fumu told him she heard steps earlier, so I did just the same. I followed him and pretended to be really afraid when I ran into him."

"Impressive." The dry tone was unmistakable and Escargon felt a little annoyed.

"You didn't do much either!"

"Because you told me to stay here. After all I'm your 'trump card' and can't appear just yet. Never minding the fact of course that I shouldn't even be here because Dedede ordered everyone to keep me out." Escargon was sure this caused Meta Knight far more amusement than he had thought at the beginning. Rightly so because what he said was true.

"Unfortunately you are correct. But the trump card always comes last and you already did something at least." Did Meta Knight just snort? Regardless of the fact if he did or not, he still seemed pretty amused overall.

"Stalking Fumu and making sure she noticed Kirby, now what an accomplishment!"

"It worked, didn't it? She told Dedede she heard steps and saw a ghost and he believed her. Surprisingly even Parm and Memu seem to have seen a ghost, although they weren't even targeted..."

"Oh?" That got him at least a slightly interested reaction. Thinking about it now, it really was curious for it should not have been possible for them to see what they had been doing. Fumu was the only one targeted beside Dedede himself.

"It wouldn't surprise me if those four also pranked other people, but what they told us... They wouldn't be able to do that actually..."

"Seems like we have a real ghost then." If Escargon had doubted that Meta Knight was amused by what was going on before, this doubts were now gone. His amusement was almost palpable.

"What do you mean 'a real ghost'? There is no such things as ghosts!" The chuckle was not what he had expected.

"I'm disappointed to hear those words from you, Escargon. Then again of course it would be hard to get a scientific explanation... But in the time I have been here you should have noticed there is a variety of demon beasts at Nightmare's disposal. Do you not expect there to be some ghosts?"

When he phrased it like that it made a lot of sense. "That's perfect timing then! What better time to have a real ghost then now when we were making one up?" Perfect timing indeed. "Oh... Are there any non-dangerous ghosts Nightmare has?"

"Nightmare has several ghosts, some of which you really don't want to meet. But didn't you mention that Dedede isn't one to pay his debts?" At Escargon's nod Meta Knight continued. "Then I expect one particular ghost to be sent here: Urameshiya."

"Urameshiya? What's special about that one?"

"Nothing is really special about Urameshiya. It is a ghost that is sent to scare its victim, in Dedede's case that would be scaring him into paying his debts. Though of course I can not be sure if it is really here. For all I know there could be no ghost, or there could be another one and not Urameshiya."

Escargon by now sat on a chair, tinkering with one of his inventions. Meta Knight looked around in the room, taking particular interest in the bookshelf now, after declaring marine biology boring obviously searching for another topic to entertain himself with.

"Does it really matter? If there is no ghost we don't have to bother with it, and if there is one that is just as well. Dedede will be scared out of his mind if there is a real one." Something was stuck and Escargon had to apply force with the screwdriver he had been working with.

Meta Knight meanwhile had chosen another book to read and had sat down on another chair. "That depends on which ghost is here. Urameshiya would be no problem, that one is harmless. Other ghosts are not. Not that I care much for Dedede, but there are still other people, some of which work with us on this one." Meta Knight didn't seem too concerned, still focused on the book on physics he had chosen.

"You don't seem concerned." Escargon's observation was met with silence, until he applied too much force with the screwdriver and a screw-nut flew through the air. Meta Knight let go of the book and caught it with his left hand as it came flying at him, although it came from his right side. Curious.

"Nightmare and Customer Service are predictable." He tossed the screw-nut back at Escargon. "Nightmare won't stop sending demon beasts until I'm dead, but right now he doesn't care. If he did, we would have seen something far stronger by now. Customer Service is just doing his job. He sends demon beasts, but he also makes sure the customer pays for them. If Dedede didn't pay until now, he will make sure he will do that soon. Sending something dangerous to accomplish that would make no sense, so either there is Urameshiya or there is no demon beast."

He picked the book back up and resumed reading, Escargon contemplating what he had just said. "Which case do we assume for further planning? Urameshiya or no demon beast?"

"Urameshiya." Meta Knight didn't miss a beat with his answer, but didn't look up from his book.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Escargon working on his inventions and Meta Knight reading his book. Then Escargon decided it was time.

"Dedede will sooner or later now appear and drag me along for something. It's time."

"You seem pretty confident that he will appear here." But Meta Knight didn't question it. He closed the book, got up and placed it back on the shelf. "I assume I can not use the door?"

"You can fly, so don't complain about it."

Without another word Meta Knight went to the window, opened it and jumped out.

Time for the next phase.

* * *

Although Waddle Doo was aware that Escargon was playing some prank on the king, he hadn't expected that much of a ruckus. It wasn't the first time he had heard the king scream by now, and if Waddle Doo hadn't known it was Escargon's fault, he would have done something himself.

But Escargon wasn't even the only one involved. He himself had also helped, the drawbridge closing had certainly not been an accident. And there were others involved, Escargon had told him. Meta Knight for example was also involved, Waddle Doo had been told and was to make sure every Waddle Dee knew that they were not to attack him.

Not that that would have happened, but it had been good to inform Waddle Doo nonetheless.

And now he wondered what to do. He wasn't part of the actual plan and only knew that Escargon and Meta Knight were doing something to the king right now. No one could fail to hear that, it sounded like the king was running through the whole castle, screaming. Maybe he even was just doing that.

"Did you hear that?"

"That sounded just like his Majesty."

Walking around a corner Waddle Doo almost bumped into the Cabinet Minister, his wife and his daughter. They all seemed at least concerned by what was going on and it only left the conclusion that they didn't know what was going on.

"Ah captain Waddle Doo. Do you have any idea where his Majesty is?"

"I haven't seen him for some time." Another scream could be heard in the distance. "But I believe those are his screams." If he interpreted their expressions correctly Parm and Memu were worried, but Fumu couldn't seem to decide. But it didn't seem like she was worried for the king.

"Maybe that ghost got him..." Memu went pale and Waddle Doo almost told them that all of this was Escargon's and Meta Knight's plan. But that wouldn't be good, after all that plan didn't seem to be over yet.

"That scream came from direction of the dungeons. Let's go there."

Maybe they would find out for themselves then.

* * *

Dedede's expression had been hilarious when he had seen Kirby, Lololo and Lalala dressed up as ghosts, there was just no other way to describe it. Bun had thought Dedede would faint, though sadly he hadn't done that.

It didn't even matter that much because right now he was unconscious. He had run around in panic and Meta Knight had perfectly used that, and that even without being seen by Dedede. Bun wasn't sure how Meta Knight had accomplished it, but Dedede had ran head-on into a wall and as a result was left unconscious.

Right now he was chained to some table in the dungeons and his awakening would be unpleasant, they would make sure of that. Although all this had been Escargon's plan, Meta Knight was the one who would get the spotlight. But Dedede hated him anyway, so it wouldn't make that much of a difference.

"W-what's going on?" Oh, Dedede was awake. That meant the fun part would be starting now.

Bun stood a few meters above Dedede on a wall, as did Kirby. He gave Kirby a sign to start and now it would become funny.

He still wondered where Escargon got that... thing, but it really helped to scare Dedede. Who wouldn't be scared of a pendulum blade above their head, swinging dangerously close? Of course they had made sure that that thing would never actually hit Dedede, but it swung close enough to make everyone fear for their lives.

"AH! What's that?" It swung past Dedede, but of course it came back from behind. Every time he saw it come at him he even screamed and his screams echoed around the dungeons. If the volume of his screams indicated his level of fear, he was very afraid.

Then the pendulum blade was stopped and Dedede sighed in relief as it didn't come down on him again. Though his relief didn't last for long.

Bun had known before that Escargon was smart and invented all kinds of things. What Dedede had to experience now also belonged to those things. Bun had also known of the fake skeleton Dedede kept in the dungeon; now there were two of them scaring Dedede.

Escargon had somehow managed to make them move on their own, controlling them from a safe distance and out of sight for Dedede. They made some weird dance in front of Dedede, but although it wasn't really threatening, it was enough to scare him. It would be so cool if he passed out in fear just because of that!

"AH!" Dedede screamed some more, but the highlight was still to follow, next would be the ghosts again. And Meta Knight. Though obviously the other way round.

"Meta Knight!"

The fake skeletons had stopped moving as Meta Knight had appeared on the wall opposite of Bun, clearly visible for Dedede. Meta Knight always looked serious with his mask because the only thing visible were his eyes, now, however, even Bun was intimidated and that although Meta Knight only looked down at Dedede.

Bun couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw hate in Meta Knight's eyes, which were piercing Dedede with their stare. Dedede himself had gone silent after his first outburst at seeing Meta Knight, also intimidated by the stare, or by the sword Meta Knight held in his left hand.

If Bun hadn't known it was only a prank, he would have said Meta Knight was really out to kill him.

But it was a prank, and as Meta Knight gestured with his right arm, three ghosts appeared behind him, giving the illusion that he was controlling them. Kirby, Lololo and Lalala slowly floated in Dedede's direction and Dedede panicked again.

"What are you **doin**'? St- stop it!" Maybe he just imagined it, but for a moment Bun thought he saw a malicious glint in Meta Knight's eyes.

Meta Knight made another gesture with his arm, Kirby, Lololo and Lalala floating ever closer at Dedede, seemingly at Meta Knight's command.

"See it as revenge." His voice sent chills down Bun's back; he had never heard Meta Knight speak in that cold tone of voice. He had a feeling like the temperature had just dropped a few degrees. "Suffer."

Dedede's next scream was abruptly cut off as he fainted. The three ghosts had almost reached him, and Meta Knight's words certainly also didn't help and Dedede just fainted.

"Oh?" Bun jumped down and went closer to Dedede, checking if he had really lost consciousness. He had. "He's out cold."

Suddenly there was laughing and Escargon appeared from the shadows. Bun turned in his direction, as did Kirby, Lololo and Lalala, now no longer dressed as ghosts. Meta Knight jumped down from the wall he had been standing on and came closer, also facing Escargon.

"That went well. Good job, everyone." Then he turned to Meta Knight. " Though I think you might have gone a little too far... I didn't mean 'scare him to death' literally..."

"You asked for my help, Escargon, so don't complain if I do help you." Some of the coldness in his voice remained, though not nearly as much as when he had spoken to Dedede.

"Yeah, I know." He turned away from Meta Knight. "I still owe you something, don't I?" He had been holding a bag and now Bun and the others saw what was inside. All of them got a lollipop and then Escargon turned back in Meta Knight's direction.

"We did it!"

"Poyo!"

Meta Knight wasn't as cheerful. "You know I don't let myself be bribed with sweets."

"It was worth a try." The look Escargon got, made clear that that wasn't the case. "Alright, we had our deal. I'll tell them, don't worry." Meta Knight only nodded in response.

The others, Bun included, were more focused on their rewards. Though Bun had wondered about something.

"I never thought we'd pull a prank on Dedede with Escargon." Escargon wanted to say something to that, but before he could, suddenly the lights turned on, banishing the darkness, and revealing the state Dedede was currently in, and the people who were responsible for that to four others.

"Bun? Lololo and Lalala?"

"Kirby?"

"And even Escargon?"

That left the last person responsible for Waddle Doo to mention, but Bun had to realize that Meta Knight had disappeared. That was so unfair.

And laughing sheepishly didn't help, he still got looks ranging from anger to confusion and disappointment. He wasn't sure which was worst of those, but he didn't like any of them.

"Why don't you explain what is going on?" It was a question, but his father was angry and it was obvious that he demanded an answer. His father rarely got angry, but if he did, it was best to do what he said. Still Bun couldn't bring himself to answer, after all it had been Escargon's plan. Thankfully Escargon really did answer after hesitating for a moment.

"This is... revenge."

"Revenge? Revenge for what?" That, of course, had been Fumu.

"Revenge for everything _he_ did." Escargon indicated Dedede behind him. He sounded quite bitter. "He always makes me do all kind of things and takes everything for granted. I do realize he is the king, but he is taking it a little too far.

I didn't complain about it because he isn't always like that and I can live with it, but when he started to... _prank_ me, it was enough." It was quite obvious that apparently those pranks hadn't been exactly harmless.

"Surprising me when he suddenly jumped from behind a corner, I can tolerate. Even being locked in some random room is still tolerable. But when he started chasing me around with dangerous weapons, it was finally enough.

I knew I had to retaliate one day because there is no other way he will see my point. This was revenge for all the things he did over time."

"That was almost just bullying..."

"That must have been hard for you..."

And he didn't even have to cry for it. If Bun had told something similar, he also would have needed tears to get his parents to feel for him. Though Fumu thought of other things.

"And you bribed Bun and the others." Bun grimaced, but no one really noticed.

"It was my plan, well actually my and Meta Knight's plan, and they just helped me."

"Meta Knight?" But Fumu's question was ignored.

"I manipulated the instant camera and the fortune teller's prediction, and I had an accident with the bridge happen." Bun looked at Waddle Doo, who suddenly seemed a little nervous. He hadn't known who else had helped Escargon. "Even the steps Fumu heard and the ghost she saw were my doing."

"And I thought it was a real ghost..." Now his father seemed almost embarrassed. Though his mother had another reaction.

"Bun, how could you do something like this?" Unfair, Escargon didn't even seem sorry.

"Dedede also does all kinda things to us. It's just fair if we get even!"

"Poyo!" Bun wasn't sure if Kirby actually agreed or just thought it was time for him to say something, but it sounded like agreement at least.

"Dedede does deserve it..." At least Fumu agreed.

"So that's how it is."

Bun wasn't the only one absolutely surprised when Dedede suddenly spoke from behind them.

* * *

"There you are." Wasn't it quite ironic for a ghost, its only purpose being to scare others, to be afraid? Urameshiya turned in Meta Knight's direction and he instantly knew it was afraid. Its expression didn't change, he wasn't even sure if it could change, but still Meta Knight knew it was afraid. With good reason.

He slowly went closer, but Urameshiya didn't back off, obviously frozen on the spot. It just hovered in the air, that unearthly being reduced to something afraid of someone even more fearsome. Meta Knight chuckled darkly.

"Don't worry, I will not compromise your mission and I will not kill you." The ghost slightly relaxed. "But there is something I want from you." Meta Knight smirked up at the ghost and he felt its fear. Pathetic.

Before it could even think about fleeing, Meta Knight had already acted. He hadn't used that ability for quite some time now, but it was perfect to scare Dedede some more. And the black chain that now surrounded his left arm felt surprisingly good.

"Black Chain." He still smirked.

* * *

"Your Majesty!" That was surprising and Fumu wondered how long Dedede had been awake.

"I heard everything." He had been awake for quite some time then. Now she was interested in his reaction. "And I see your point."

"What?" This was unexpected, really unexpected.

"His Majesty is acting weird..." And this was the absolute truth.

"I'm sorry for what I did, I promise I won't do it again." He tentatively smiled at Escargon, but Fumu couldn't interpret Escargon's expression.

"Sorry, but I'm not falling for that."

Now everyone had a dumbfounded expression on their faces. But best of all was Dedede's expression of absolute disbelief. Fumu had expected Escargon to believe him, and obviously Dedede had done the same, only to be disappointed. Then he became angry.

"Escargon! Get rid of those chains!" Dedede thrashed around, tried to get rid of the chains, but to no avail. Then he thought of something else. "Waddle Doo, I order you to free me!"

Waddle Doo looked uncomfortable, but complied with the order, or at least tried to.

"I don't have the key, your Majesty."

"Then get it from Escargon!"

But Escargon had used the opportunity to get away, as had the other people involved. That left only Fumu and her parents with Waddle Doo and none of them had a key. Fumu almost felt sorry for Dedede. Almost.

"Someone do something and get those chains off me!"

"But it was such an effort to even get you chained." Everyone looked to where that voice suddenly came from. To Fumu's surprise it was Meta Knight, standing atop a wall in front of Dedede. He had his cape firmly wrapped around himself and stared down at Dedede.

Escargon had mentioned that Meta Knight was also involved, but it did surprise Fumu that he was even inside the castle. But something about him was different. And it wasn't only that he was completely wrapped into his cape, although she had only ever seen him do that once, but it was something else, something she couldn't quite identify.

"Meta Knight!" Dedede seemed absolutely livid at seeing him, but Meta Knight himself didn't seem to care for that except for the cold glare he sent Dedede. "This is also your fault, so get rid of the chains!"

"Alright." Fumu and everyone else were certainly surprised by that, but when his sword materialized in his left hand, Fumu got the feeling that it had not been smart of Dedede to tell Meta Knight of all people to get rid of the chains.

"What are you doing with **that**?"

It wasn't quite laughing, but Fumu interpreted the sound Meta Knight made as amusement. "Getting rid of the chains."

Before anyone else could say anything, a Sword Beam came flying at Dedede. He screamed and thrashed around again, but of course it didn't help. But Dedede hadn't even been the target, Meta Knight's Sword Beam really only hit the chains. It did admittedly hit only inches away from Dedede, but he hadn't been harmed and the chain holding him had been destroyed.

As soon as Dedede was free, he backed off as far away as possible from Meta Knight. "Were you trying to **kill** me?"

"Actually I wasn't, but if you like I can do that now." He still held his sword in hand and Fumu certainly thought him capable of killing Dedede.

"No! I am the king, you can't kill me!"

Meta Knight didn't seem impressed, but sheathed his sword again. He still seemed different somehow, and now Fumu for the first time noticed his left arm. It looked like something was wrapped around it, but she couldn't see it clearly.

"The goal wasn't to kill you. Not yet at least." Suddenly a ghost appeared behind him, but that couldn't be the case. Kirby, Lololo and Lalala had all left and they had been the floating ghosts. So what was that behind Meta Knight?

"What's that? Tryin' to scare me? Doesn't work, I know it was just a prank!" Dedede's earlier fear had been replaced with confidence and he even smirked at Meta Knight. Meta Knight himself still didn't seem impressed, and if Fumu had to guess what he felt, she would say amusement.

He gestured at Dedede with his right arm while he laughed and the... ghost came closer to Dedede. Dedede went closer, obviously not afraid.

"I am not afraid of your tricks, Met-" Then he stopped, expression suddenly shocked. Everyone else sucked in a breath (except for Meta Knight), equally as shocked as Dedede.

The ghost - now Fumu was quite sure it was a real ghost - hadn't stopped, but had passed right through Dedede. And that left no doubt about the fact that it was a ghost because there was no other explanation.

"Wh-what was that...?" Dedede turned around and looked at the ghost behind him.

"_Urameshiya!_"

Without looking back Dedede instantly ran away, the ghost in pursuit.

"_Pay your bill!_"

The other people were left staring after him.

"W-was that a real ghost?"

"Yes, that was Urameshiya, a ghost sent by Holy Nightmare Corporation to make Dedede pay." Everyone turned in Meta Knight's direction. His arm, Fumu noticed, looked normal. Either she had imagined things or whatever had been there, was gone.

"How did you get it to do that?"

"It is just doing its job. Scaring Dedede is its job, so I didn't do anything." Fumu didn't quite believe him; he was somehow involved and had made that ghost do something, but of course she couldn't prove it.

"Let's see how his Majesty is doing." Her parents, oblivious to her suspicions, and Waddle Doo were already on their way out of the dungeons. She followed with Meta Knight a little behind them.

"Why did you help Escargon?" Meta Knight had been looking on ahead. Now he looked at Fumu from the corner of his eyes.

"He asked for help and I did help him." That was hardly an answer.

"What did you get in return?" He chuckled at her question.

"You have seen right through me, Fumu, haven't you? Of course I got something in return other than the pleasure of tormenting Dedede. Let's just say you might be seeing me in the castle some time in the future."

"You got free access to the castle from Escargon?" To say she was surprised was an understatement. She hadn't expected Meta Knight to request something like that. Then again she couldn't think of much else he would request.

"I did that mainly for Kirby. He also got free access and that means you will not receive any glares from the Waddle Dees anymore, like you doubtlessly did in the past when he was with you. But yes, I also have free access, although I don't know if you will ever encounter myself here. Maybe in the library, but as I haven't been there before, I can not tell for certain."

Fumu wanted to say something else, but suddenly Waddle Doo and her parents in front of them began to run in direction of the throne room. Fumu and Meta Knight followed and arrived just in time to see the ghost disappear via use of a transporter.

A monitor lit up and everyone, including Escargon, Kirby, Bun, Lololo and Lalala, went in front of it.

"The receipt will be sent later." That guy, Customer Service, looked down at them.

"What's going on?"

"My apologies, but this was the only option I had left. Goodbye." Without another word he was gone and the transporter and the monitor disappeared.

"So you were being used by this guy, Escargon?"

"No, I knew there was a real ghost." He briefly looked at Meta Knight. So he had known there was a real ghost. "And our plan was a success, so it doesn't matter."

Just then the door to the throne room closed with an ominous bang.

"You are gonna pay." Dedede had closed it, a malicious expression on his face and his mallet on his shoulder. He moved, but everyone in danger of suffering his wrath had already moved away.

Meta Knight was ignored, but the other five tried to get as fast and as far away as possible from Dedede.

Shouting could be heard for quite some time to follow.

* * *

**A/N:** I was pretty fast with updating recently (for me at least), but I fear I will slow down a little now. Real life will be pretty demanding soon and my time for writing will be short, really short in comparison to right now. Sorry 'bout that, but I'll try my best.


	14. Mirrors

**14. ****Mirrors**

The network he was currently trespassing through was boring, he decided. Black, green and blue were the most dominant colors, indicating the data stream, but after three minutes it had become boring.

Though the golden door that suddenly appeared in front of him, was a welcome change.

"Holy Nightmare Corporation's Network..."

He blasted the door open and entered, finding himself in a small room, this time all green. Time to attract some attention...

Attacking the walls with some electric energy soon did the trick and monitors lit up all over the six walls.

"Who are you?" The countless small monitors became six big ones and a guy with suit and sunglasses appeared. "You are trespassing on Holy Nightmare Corporation's site."

Maybe it should have been threatening, but he didn't feel threatened at all. "Isn't there a Star Warrior in Pop Star's solar system?"

"Oh?" That got him even more attention. "If your business is on Pop Star I can provide power free of charge." The guy in the suit didn't even wait, but he didn't complain, every bit of more power was alright.

Everything around him went white and he readily accepted the power the guy had spoken of, let it flow through his whole body.

Then he found himself in a tunnel of light and different colors, this time more than blue and green, but he didn't feel like really looking at all of them. He had more important things to do.

Suddenly the tunnel ended and he looked down at what he assumed to be Pop Star. "The enemy that I'm hunting for is there..." And he would find him.

* * *

"I'm disappointed in you."

Meta Knight immediately recognized it for what it was. Nightmare was present and had spoken the words, so either it was a dream or a nightmare. Or Nightmare had done something himself and it was the _real_ Nightmare.

"Is that so?" Meta Knight looked at him, expression bored. "Why?"

Nightmare grinned, only that enough to tell Meta Knight that Nightmare thought he knew more than Meta Knight. And he didn't answer, that wicked grin all Meta Knight got.

Meta Knight fully turned in Nightmare's direction, studying him for some seconds for he hadn't seen him in years. He looked just the same, the same shoulder pads, the same helmet with horns, the same medallion, the same cloak with stars. And the same mocking grin.

Looking around, Meta Knight noted the place they were currently at. He hadn't been here for quite some time. Although it was dark and there was no source of light, he could see well enough. It seemed like one huge room, and although he couldn't see a ceiling or even walls, he could see something else. Mirrors.

Mirrors, all of them with a black frame, some broken, some not, some lying on the ground and some standing, scattered throughout the whole room.

"What is it you want from me?"

Nightmare's grin widened and he chuckled darkly.

"Becoming impatient, aren't you?"

"No, I am still as patient as ever." Nightmare regarded him for a moment.

"Your time is running out, Meta Knight." Meta Knight stiffened. His gaze swept through the room, landing on the closest mirror.

"What time?"

"Your time."

Meta Knight focused his attention on Nightmare again, angry now.

"Why do you tell me this?" Nightmare chuckled again.

"Your dreams are only answers to questions you haven't asked yet, Meta Knight." Meta Knight turned away, looking at the mirror again.

"And what about nightmares?"

"Ah... That is the question. Is this a nightmare or even a dream? Or is it reality?" Meta Knight ignored him and went closer to the mirror.

"What will I see when I look into the mirror?" He had stopped beside the mirror.

"Past. Present. Future. Truth. Lies. _Reality_." Meta Knight took another step. "I cannot tell for this is _your_ reality." He didn't question it because he knew the truth.

Meta Knight took a last step and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

What he saw should surprise him, but it didn't. It wasn't exactly what he had expected, but it was a possibility, even if he told himself it was still not true.

He turned back from the mirror, sparing it no second glance.

"What did you see?" Nightmare sounded genuinely interested and Meta Knight decided to answer him.

"The future." He went closer to another mirror. "Lies." He also stopped beside this one, preventing the mirror from reflecting him. "Will I see the same thing in this one?"

"No." Meta Knight looked at the mirror with curiosity, but turned back in Nightmare's direction.

"How do you know that?" Nightmare grinned again.

"This is your reality. I am merely a manifestation of your own mind and therefore know what you know. Dreams are like that."

Meta Knight stared at Nightmare in contemplation, wondering what to answer. It made sense, but he knew it wasn't the truth or rather only part of it had been the truth.

"It _is_ my reality. But it is not a dream nor a nightmare and you are not a manifestation of my mind. You are the real Nightmare, I am well aware of that fact."

The fact that the grin faded away was all the confirmation Meta Knight needed.

"How did you find out?"

"I knew from the start. Don't think that I am ignorant of your abilities." Meta Knight had been right after all and it had really been the real Nightmare. It was curious that Nightmare took the trouble of meeting Meta Knight in this way.

Though obviously Nightmare had not considered that Meta Knight wasn't just one of the normal demon beasts. He was capable of things on a whole different level from anyone else and finding out Nightmare was the real deal wasn't that much of a problem, he didn't even need special skills for that.

"I see. You only prove you are better than other demon beasts again and again. How unfortunate you are not on my side." Meta Knight tensed and the mocking grin was instantly back.

"Is that what you want to talk about?" Meta Knight spoke to Nightmare, but at the same time refocused his attention on the mirror. Nightmare didn't seem to mind and he also didn't mind the question, but looked around at all the mirrors.

"Your mind is quite the interesting place. Other minds I saw were far less intriguing. People want to live their lives in sunshine and happiness and their minds reflects that. It becomes more and more of a dreamscape with no connection to reality, or it reflects their day to day life.

Your mind, however, is a dark place. There are no details, nothing. But the most intriguing things about your mind are the mirrors. I can only guess some of them might be memories, but I now know you have the power to predict future events at least partially.

What you saw might be the future, or it might not be, I cannot say for certain. But now I do know one important thing about you that I wondered about. You yourself are the mirror I expected you to be."

Meta Knight had listened wordlessly to what Nightmare had told him. Now he took the last few steps to the mirror and looked inside, still without a word. He took a look of several seconds without reacting in any way to the image he saw, then, without looking away, he finally spoke again.

"What do I reflect?"

"Everything. You don't copy abilities, but you can mimic them to some extent. And you reflect me. You were created that way, to be able to use the same abilities I possess."

Meta Knight had listened with a blank expression, still focused on the mirror, but now he turned in Nightmare's direction again, suddenly smirking.

"I know, and this was only a test." Nightmare frowned and Meta Knight elaborated. "I know I have those abilities, for quite some time already. The fact that you just told me is proof of that because you would never give this away now.

Although this meeting certainly originated from something you did, _I_ am in control here. As you already pointed out this is my mind, and, where I certainly would have liked another place to meet you, that fact gives me control.

You can enter minds and dreams, you can even control them to an extent, depending on whose mind or dream you enter, and I can do the same.

Now imagine what happens if you enter the mind of a person with the same ability. You walked right into my trap and didn't even realize it until I told you. Here I am in control and it was quite easy to manipulate you into telling me what I wanted to know."

Meta Knight couldn't stop his eyes from turning pink in cruel amusement for a moment; right now he clearly had the upper hand, even if he sadly couldn't kill Nightmare here.

Nightmare's grin had completely vanished now and had left a scowl. He seemed angry and Meta Knight could understand it, but that fact only prompted him to laugh at Nightmare.

"Still, your time is running out." There was much venom in Nightmare's voice and Meta Knight stopped laughing, his expression turning deadly serious.

"My time has been running out since the day I was born or created or whatever you want to call it."

"No. In my service I would have made sure that you wouldn't die. You know I am immortal, for as long as there is fear and darkness I will never truly be gone. You also know I have the ability to bring the dead back to life."

'At a price', but Meta Knight didn't say it out loud. "You sound like you want me back." Meta Knight's eyes narrowed as Nightmare began to chuckle.

"I don't 'want' you back. I will have you back."

"You seem absolutely sure of that." Nightmare's expression didn't promise anything good.

"Either that or you will die."

"The second option sounds really tempting, but I think I will go with the third: neither."

Meta Knight had expected Nightmare to react with anger, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead he chuckled again.

"I expected this answer. But I fear you don't have a choice in the matter. You saw it when you looked into the mirror, didn't you? You will return to me."

Meta Knight didn't react to that ominous prediction, would neither deny it nor agree to it.

"No response? You cannot deny it, you have seen it for yourself after all."

"You have no idea what I saw, you just take a guess and hope I will tell you what it was. Though whatever it was, I can not even be sure if it was past or future, nor can I be sure if it was truth or not."

"You are correct, I cannot be sure what you saw. But it doesn't matter, I know you will return."

Meta Knight's blood ran cold at the conviction in Nightmare's voice and he took a step back, right into the mirror's frame. He turned to it in surprise and took another glimpse at the image, which had changed somewhat now. He was frozen in place for a moment, remembering what Nightmare had just said. Then he laughed.

Nightmare looked at him in surprise and curiosity, but Meta Knight didn't care. He laughed - quite hysterically - and at the same time wondered if he was going insane because he laughed at what he had seen. Then he stopped abruptly, his expression behind the mask showing his displeasure.

"I will not try to talk to you about this. Instead I will do something else. Right now I have an unfair advantage, no? I know how you hate situations like that, so I will change it. You might end up with the advantage then."

Meta Knight smirked at Nightmare's frown. Then his frown was replaced with a look of understanding. "You won't be able to do it. The effort would kill you."

"Spares you the trouble then." Meta Knight took a few steps in Nightmare's direction, right arm outstretched and eyes gleaming maliciously in the semi-darkness.

"Reverse."

* * *

It was early morning still, but Fumu and Bun had been awake for some time already. Bun had almost forced himself upon Fumu in his boredom and, kind-hearted older sister that she was, she had agreed to do something with him.

It was already the third try, but this time their house of cards seemed to have decided to keep standing. Fumu was just placing the last two cards, when of course it decided to collapse again. This time it wasn't Fumu's fault at least, though the fact that an earthquake rocked the whole castle wasn't much better.

"An earthquake?" Both Fumu and Bun had fallen to the floor; Fumu had even managed to land most ungracefully on her face. But earthquakes were pretty uncommon, so it might as well have been something else.

"Let's see what exactly happened."

"Yeah."

They picked themselves up from the floor and stormed out of the living room and through the hallways in direction of the throne room. Whenever there was trouble, chances were high it was Dedede's fault.

Though this time Dedede didn't seem to be the one at fault. When Fumu and Bun arrived at the throne room, he was lying on the floor with some of the Waddle Dees. In front of him was a person, a demon beast? Fumu couldn't be sure because Dedede had also been attacked and the person glowed in a white light that didn't permit to see the features.

And before she could try to take a closer look the person disappeared down the hallway.

"An enemy attack! Everyone to arms!"

Dedede had barely ordered it, as the first Waddle Dees already rounded the corner in pursuit of the attacker. Fumu and Bun followed, but when they arrived, almost all Waddle Dees had been defeated by the mysterious attacker already.

He used some sort of energy attack and blasted away the last few Waddle Dees and also a few walls, leaving a huge hole and perfect view to the outside. When he turned he instantly looked at Bun and herself, and before they could even try to say anything, he chased after them.

Running through the hallways, screaming, was certainly not great, but Fumu figured there wasn't much else they could do. It was certainly better than being hit by that guy behind them. Though it would be even better if someone saved them.

No one was more surprised than Fumu when someone actually did save them.

She only heard the sizzling of energy and when she turned around saw their pursuer had backed off a little, looking at the one who had saved them. Waddle Doo had used his ability and had shot a beam of energy at the guy.

"Who are you?"

There was no answer other than more attacks. One of the guy's energy blasts and Waddle Doo's energy beams collided in midair and Fumu had to avert her eyes from the resulting explosion. Only when the dust had cleared, became the destruction obvious.

Another wall had been lost. This time only one side wall, but the hole left again a view to the outside.

"Stop destroying my castle!" To make matters worse Dedede also decided to get involved in the fight. He moved with surprising speed and attacked with his mallet, an attacked easily evaded though. In response Dedede got another energy blast, which collided with his next attempted overhead strike.

Fumu couldn't see it clearly, but Dedede was blasted out of the hole in the wall because he had been fairly close to it. His attacker followed.

Fumu, Bun and Waddle Doo all ran to the hole to see what exactly had happened to Dedede. Several meters beneath them he was just standing up again, looking a little dusty but otherwise alright. The other guy was right in front of him and Fumu and Bun hurried down to hear what they were saying.

"I'm Knuckle Joe."

They arrived just in time to hear an introduction. Fumu and Bun hid behind a tree, and for the first time Fumu could really look at Knuckle Joe.

He had purple skin and spiky hair of really light purple color, bordering on white. He wore red clothes and shoes and light blue gloves and a green headband.

"I have a question: where is the Star Warrior? I know he's here." Dedede looked dumbfounded and failed to answer for only a second. "Answer me!" A fact that prompted Knuckle Joe to demand answers.

"There is a Star Warrior here. His name is..." Fumu didn't miss Dedede's brief hesitation. "Meta Knight."

"Meta Knight." Joe seemed to try out the name. "Meta Knight, huh?"

Fumu had seen and heard enough. "Let's tell him."

"Yeah, let's go."

Why was there always someone new attacking? Sometimes Fumu seriously wondered what she had done wrong in her life to deserve a demon beast attacking every other day.

* * *

Maybe it had not been such a good idea to try and reverse it. He had closed his eyes in agony and didn't see what exactly was happening, but the feeling of falling down wasn't lost on him. Then he hit solid ground, but fell down immediately after.

Slowly the feeling of agony ebbed away and Meta Knight opened his eyes again, looking around from his position on the ground. Nightmare was such a hypocrite.

Unless something else had happened while Meta Knight had been preoccupied with pain, this was Nightmare's mind. Not the smartest idea to stay here, but Meta Knight assumed he had a few minutes before Nightmare would be able to take complete control. For now he was in control, if only because he had surprised Nightmare with his action and the simple fact that he was even able to use this vicious little ability.

The place he was currently at was no less dark than his own mind. Though where his own mind wasn't based on a real place he had seen in his life, Nightmare's was very much so. Reflecting day to day life indeed.

Nightmare's mind looked very much like his command center did, at least if it still looked the same now as it did when Meta Knight had last seen it. Monitors along the walls and consoles in front of them, even that stupid transporter was here. The only really obvious difference was the light. There was no source of light to be seen, rather fitting for someone who called himself the Emperor of Darkness, and just like in Meta Knight's own mind there was a semi-darkness.

"Most fascinating. What was that about the mind reflecting day to day life?" Nightmare's scowl was reward enough. He hovered in place a few meters in front of Meta Knight and looked every bit as displeased as Meta Knight had expected him to be.

"It seems like you succeeded in your attempt to enter my mind. Congratulations for not dying." The mocking undertone was unmistakable, but Meta Knight didn't care. "But remember, now we are in my mind and that means _I_ am in control."

Whatever Nightmare tried to do, failed because for the moment Meta Knight was still the one in control. It wouldn't stay like this for long, but for now it was still the case.

"Obviously you are not quite as much in control as you thought." Smirking up at Nightmare was in no way helpful, but for now Meta Knight was safe enough. "Right now I am still in control, so you might as well stop trying anything." Nightmare's expression darkened and Meta Knight knew Nightmare would like to kill him right now.

"As soon as I am back in control, you will regret it."

"Don't think I will still be here when that happens."

They looked at each other for a few seconds, Nightmare with palpable anger, Meta Knight with absolute indifference now.

"You play a dangerous game, Meta Knight."

"The more danger there is, the better. You know I am easily bored, that didn't change."

"Your arrogance is astounding."

"I know I got it from you at least." It was the first time Meta Knight had acknowledged Nightmare as anything resembling a father (though he would _never_ use that word to describe Nightmare), but the reaction he got was... unpleasant.

"Don't mistake confidence for arrogance! I _am_ ruler of the universe, I have no need for arrogance!"

"Tyrants have a tendency to be overthrown sooner or later, not least because they are overconfident and think nothing can stop them!"

"Your arrogance will be your undoing in the end, Meta Knight!"

Nightmare was seething, as was Meta Knight, his red eyes giving away that fact clearly.

"Maybe arrogance will be my undoing, but I'm not nearly as blinded by arrogance as you are!" Meta Knight was aware that his time would be almost up by now and Nightmare would gain control, but this was no conversation he wanted to leave unfinished.

"Blind you say? What need is there for me to see? I know what my servants do and I know the Galaxy Soldier Army has been destroyed. You are the only one left to oppose me and you were once one of my own. I know you, as much as you would like to deny it.

You are utterly predictable to me. That is why I know you will return to me. Power is everything and I can offer the power you crave. Return and you will not have to fear death anymore for demon beasts won't hunt you but will be under your command.

The universe will know your name as the one who brought down the resistance against the glorious empire and you will be hailed as a hero."

"And be seen as just another enforcer for a tyrant..." But was that really that bad? After all he had lived that life already once, before he had left Nightmare.

_"Meta Knight!"_ Meta Knight recoiled as if he had been hit, wondering where that voice suddenly came from.

"You know I speak the truth." Nightmare either hadn't noticed or had decided to ignore it. "Life would be much more enjoyable for you then. You were born to fight and under my command you can fight all you like."

This made Meta Knight laugh, but without any humor. "And what do I do now? I fight your demon beasts, the demon beasts that are sent to kill me."

_"Meta Knight, come on! It's important!"_

Nightmare frowned. "It is not I who tells them what to do. They get their orders from the king of Dreamland. I never told any of them to specifically target you."

Meta Knight's eyes flashed red again. "No? That is hard to believe!"

"Meta Knight!" Nightmare sounded angry, but Meta Knight didn't get to know what he wanted to say. There was the voice again, and suddenly he was falling.

_"Wake up!"_

Only then did he notice it had been Fumu's voice calling his name.

* * *

Meta Knight's eyes opened and he instantly sat up, almost hitting Fumu because she had been too close. She backed away and gave him her best disapproving look, that kind of look were most people would try to get away from her.

"I didn't know you had such a sound sleep. Nice you did wake up after a few tries, though." Meta Knight looked at her as if he didn't comprehend a thing of what she had said just now. Wherever he was with his thoughts, it was not in the present.

"Meta Knight?" He shook his head once and then got up. He looked around for a moment, at Tokkori on the window sill and then at Bun beside her and finally herself.

"What is it... Fumu?" She wondered why he hesitated, but dismissed it. She was here for a reason.

"We came here to warn you."

"Warn me?" He didn't seem as interested as Fumu would have thought. She even got the feeling he wouldn't show more interest if she told him Pop Star would be destroyed in five minutes. He seemed preoccupied.

"Yeah, there's that guy looking for you!" Meta Knight and Fumu shifted their gazes to Bun. "He asked Dedede for a Star Warrior and Dedede told him your name. His name is..." Bun tried, but failed to remember.

"Knuckle Joe."

Fumu looked back at Meta Knight, seeing recognition in his eyes.

"Knuckle Joe..." He looked out of the window, far away with his thoughts again. His eyes had changed color to green and Fumu assumed the color indicated thinking, just like red indicated anger. She had assumed there was significance already the first time she had seen his eyes change color, and where red was obvious, green had been a little harder to figure out.

"You know him, don't you?"

"No..." He continued to look out of the window and by now Fumu wondered if there was something wrong with him. This was not a normal reaction to anything, not from Meta Knight at least.

"Are you alright?"

"Not yet." He turned back in their direction, but Fumu only wondered if that had been an answer to her question, or if that had been something else. "What about Knuckle Joe?" Maybe something else then, he didn't seem to get what they were even talking about.

"Meta Knight, someone named Knuckle Joe is searching for you and he did seem angry." Fumu had expected some response, but instead Meta Knight went to a drawer, rummaged through it and then obviously found something. He looked at it for a moment and when he had turned back in Fumu's and Bun's direction, had put it somewhere so neither Fumu nor Bun could see it.

"Alright, where is he?"

"Huh? You wanna go to where that guy is?" If Bun hadn't said it before her, Fumu would have said something similar. What was the point of them telling him then?

"Why do you worry? Meta Knight's going to kick his ass." That was Tokkori. He seemed pretty confident in Meta Knight's abilities, though it didn't really surprise Fumu, after all he had also seen him defeat other demon beasts.

"Yeah, but that guy blasted whole walls away in the castle!"

"So what?"

Fumu got the feeling Meta Knight rolled his eyes at them, but he didn't bother with them. He left the house and Fumu followed, leaving Bun and Tokkori behind ("Dedede had no chance against him!")

"Why are you searching for him? Wouldn't it be smarter to get away from him?"

"And what use would that be? If he is searching for me don't you think he will search until he finds me?" That made sense of course, but still it was a little stupid.

"Where are you searching for him?" Fumu just followed Meta Knight, something she had not expected to be doing anytime soon again. The last two times of that had been quite unpleasant, but now he was acting normal (a little weird earlier, but better than other things he had done in the past). They were walking to... somewhere. It was the general direction of the village, but not quite.

"Somewhere." Which translated to something along the lines of 'I don't know'. "Where is Kirby?"

"I don't know. He wasn't at home and I was a little distracted by the fact that you slept and didn't wake up." He stopped, looking at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Tokkori said he tried to wake you earlier, but you didn't react in any way. I also tried to wake you up, but you didn't seem to hear me..." She trailed off, after all he had woken up then.

"No. I did hear you..." Fumu looked at him in surprise.

"What? But you didn't react!" She wanted to be angry at him for ignoring her, but then she saw his look, he was far away with his thoughts again.

"How could I... I wasn't _there_..." Did he try to confuse her on purpose or didn't he even notice he was talking? The words weren't directed at Fumu, were more directed at himself than at anyone else. It was the first time Fumu had heard Meta Knight talking to himself and it was slightly concerning. Something had happened and Fumu would find out what. She hoped she wouldn't regret it later...

"Meta Knight, what happened?"

He stopped talking, refocused on the present, on Fumu to be precise. He seemed torn, surprising Fumu a little. She had expected she would need several tries and would end up with some more death threats then.

"Nightmare." That one word sent shivers down her back because she knew he meant the Emperor of Darkness himself. But what could Nightmare possibly do to Meta Knight now? After all he was far away.

"He..." Then he decided against telling Fumu. His eyes were glowing green again and he turned away from Fumu, looking somewhere into the distance.

Fumu let him be, worrying more about Knuckle Joe than Nightmare at the moment. Rightly so even because Knuckle Joe himself was marching in their direction, expression hostile.

"Hey you! Are you Meta Knight?" Fumu was about to lie, coming up with some fake name, but Meta Knight was the first to answer and he didn't lie.

"Yes, I am."

Joe's expression darkened and he took a threatening stance, ready to fight. "Fight me!" He didn't even wait after that. Before Fumu could as much as blink, he had already jumped in Meta Knight's direction.

Meta Knight jumped out of the way and Joe's fist hit the ground where he had been only a second before. Fumu backed away from Joe and the dust he had raised with his attack, coughing loudly.

"Vulcan Jab!" Fumu had closed her eyes because of the dust and only heard a loud crash. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that Meta Knight had not been hit, but there was another cloud of dust where the attack had hit the ground.

Joe cursed and attacked Meta Knight again, sending more of his energy attacks. "Vulcan Jab! Vulcan Jab!" None of them hit Meta Knight, he evaded all of them seemingly with ease.

"Fight back!" He got angrier and angrier, but none of his attacks hit and Meta Knight just kept evading them. Then he suddenly had his sword in hand and deflected one of the attacks back at Joe himself.

Joe jumped out of the way, but Meta Knight used the time to get closer to him. When Joe looked back in Meta Knight's direction, he was directly in front of him. Meta Knight punched him in the face and Joe went down, clutching his face in pain.

"You won't be able to defeat me like this." Joe got up again, glaring at Meta Knight because of his words.

"Smash Punch!" This attack seemed stronger than the others, but Meta Knight got out of the way and it left another crater in the landscape. If it kept going on like this, there wouldn't be much landscape left soon. Fumu decided to intervene at this point.

"Knuckle Joe!" Surprised he turned in Fumu's direction, as did Meta Knight. "Why are you fighting him just because Dedede told you his name when you asked for a Star Warrior?" Now Fumu got the angry look.

"He was an enemy of my father!"

"Your father? But-"

"Ignore her!" Dedede had really bad timing. He came driving in his tank (a wonder he could drive it on his own) and hadn't even reached them as he already began shouting. "Kill him!"

"Wait!" Fumu scowled at Dedede. "You only told him Meta Knight's name because you want to get rid of him!"

Dedede had already opened his mouth to retort something, but Meta Knight was faster. "That is enough." Everyone now looked at him. "It does not matter why Dedede told Joe my name. I am the one Joe was searching for, Dedede actually got that right."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am the one who killed your father." Meta Knight spoke without any emotion and Fumu wondered how he was able to do that if what he said was the truth.

Joe only cared for what he had said. Without wasting any time he attacked Meta Knight again, this time only with his fists and without the energy blasts. Meta Knight didn't even try to move out of the way and Joe's fist connected with his mask.

Meta Knight skidded a little over the ground, but didn't fall and also didn't seem to care much for the fact that he had been punched. He looked directly at Knuckle Joe and that obviously was enough to intensify his anger.

Joe's expression darkened and he attacked again, punching Meta Knight in rapid succession. Meta Knight didn't even try to defend himself and Fumu wondered what was wrong with him. Why didn't he even try defend himself, his sword in hand but not using it?

Then Joe stopped, still glaring at Meta Knight, who had closed his eyes before and now looked directly at Joe again. Fumu barely noticed Bun and Tokkori had followed them and had finally arrived, and had also brought Kirby along. She was far too focused on what was going on.

"Do you feel better now?" Meta Knight still spoke in his emotionless voice and Fumu got the feeling it only enraged Joe more.

"Do I feel better?" He smirked, then it turned into bitter laughter. "I will only feel better when you are dead!" Fumu saw Meta Knight's eyes widen a little, and this time he did block Joe's punches with his sword.

"What's going on?" She briefly turned in Bun's direction, saw that he was directly beside her with Kirby and Tokkori now. Then she turned back.

"Meta Knight is..." Was he losing? Fumu wasn't sure. "I don't know."

Meta Knight blocked again and backed a few meters away from Knuckle Joe. Then he did something absolutely unexpected and Fumu wondered if he had gone mad. He threw his sword away in their direction, leaving himself without any weapon to defend himself with.

Knuckle Joe didn't care. "Smash Punch!" Fumu clearly saw that Meta Knight had not expected Joe to attack him again. He tried to dodge to the side, but was hit anyway because Joe had been far too close still. The force of the hit sent him to the ground, some distance away.

"Poyo!"

"Ah!"

Kirby, Bun and Tokkori all were equally as surprised as Fumu by what was going on. Dedede laughed quite hard because Meta Knight was receiving hits.

Meta Knight barely stood again when he was already hit by the next attacks. "Vulcan Jab!" Knuckle Joe sent more of the smaller energy blasts from his hands. "Spin Kick!" And leapt into the air and sent a bigger energy blast.

Most of them hit Meta Knight and he went right back down to the ground. Dedede laughed even harder, and slowly but surely Fumu worried about Meta Knight.

Meta Knight got up again, looking a little disoriented after all the hits he had received. Knuckle Joe already sprinted in his direction, but he suddenly stopped as if frozen on the spot or held by invisible chains.

"What did you do? Why can't I move?"

"The fact that you can not move proves that you became a demon, just like your father before his death."

"What?"

Fumu was sure she wasn't the only one who wondered what exactly was going on. Meta Knight had somehow stopped Joe, though she had no idea how he did it, and obviously neither had Joe.

"I fought together with your father against Nightmare's army. He was strong, and many fighters improved their skill because of him. I counted him as a friend." Meta Knight's eyes glowed green, but he didn't look away from Knuckle Joe.

"We were caught unaware. We had fallen asleep and then we were attacked. Many were lost that day. And your father... he was taken away.

I thought he had died, and it was a surprise when he miraculously returned. However, I knew he had lost to Nightmare's temptation."

"That's a lie! It's a lie that my father became a demon!" He still didn't move, but Joe's expression made clear he would like nothing more than to attack Meta Knight again.

"Is it? He attacked us along with many of Nightmare's demon beasts and I was forced to kill him in the end. Do you not think I would have refrained from killing him if there had been another way? I do not know if he willingly became one of Nightmare's servants or if Nightmare forced him, but I do know he was beyond help. Even I myself could not help him anymore.

In the end he died as a demon, but he didn't forget you." Meta Knight threw something at Joe and he caught it, obviously no longer unable to move.

"What-"

"Your father gave it to me before his death. Now I am giving it to you, like he certainly expected me to do when I met you."

Fumu couldn't see what Meta Knight had given him, but Joe looked at it for a while and Meta Knight looked at him, waiting for a reaction. Whatever reaction he had expected, it was clear he hadn't expected the bitter laughing.

"Damn it!" Joe threw the thing to the ground, and for the first time Fumu saw what it was. It was a golden locket, but because of the distance she couldn't tell what it looked like exactly. "My father was an idiot!"

"Maybe so. He decided to live on, even as a demon, for a son like you. Maybe that was a mistake and made him an idiot. After all, just like your father you also became a demon."

"What? I'm not a demon!" Joe seemed pretty angry at that accusation, and Fumu already feared he would attack Meta Knight again. Meta Knight, however, surprised her.

"Kirby."

"Oh?" Kirby had been unnaturally silent until now and looked just as surprised as everyone else at Meta Knight. But when Meta Knight looked at Kirby, he went closer and came to a halt right beside Meta Knight.

"I can tell you are a demon, otherwise I would not have been able to stop you like I did earlier. But if you don't believe me, Kirby will prove it. He has the ability to deal with any demon beast. If you fight him, your true form will become clear."

Meta Knight took a step to the side, and Joe took a look at Kirby. Kirby looked curiously back, tilted his head in wonderment and left it at that.

"You want me to fight him? He doesn't look strong at all!" Meta Knight only took a look at Kirby and turned around after Kirby had looked back. Without another word he went to his sword, picked it up from the ground, and then went to stand beside Fumu and Bun. Fumu was quite sure that she was the only one to notice that Meta Knight was walking a little...unevenly, for lack of a better word. It was barely noticeable, but it was clear Meta Knight had not been left unscathed after all the hits Knuckle Joe had landed.

"Kirby will be more than capable of defeating you. Fight him, or don't fight him. It is up to you."

"Che... as if I would back down!"

Joe raised his fists and glared at Kirby; Kirby looked calmly back. Joe didn't even wait a second after that. "Vulcan Jab!"

Kirby wasn't hit because he moved out of the way, but his opponent didn't stop attacking. "Smash Punch!"

"Kirby, inhale it!" But it had been completely unnecessary for Fumu to give the command. Kirby had already started to inhale Joe's attack and then swallowed, transforming and getting a new ability. Fumu expectantly looked at Meta Knight, telling him with her look only to reveal his ability.

Meta Knight sent an annoyed look back, certainly understanding what she wanted from him. He told her the ability anyway. "That is Fighter Kirby." Maybe it had been unnecessary then, she could have guessed that one.

"Vulcan Jab!" Kirby now wore a red headband not unlike Joe's and used the exact same attacks. "Smash Punch!" Whenever Joe attacked, Kirby used the same attack only moments later.

"Spin Kick!"

All attacks crashed into each other in midair, exploding because neither Kirby nor Joe were able to overpower the other's attack.

"This will be dragging on forever!"

"Yeah."

Fumu frowned at Tokkori and Bun. "Don't complain about it! Support Kirby!"

"I won't cheer Kirby on when the fight is this boring."

"I told you that guy blasted whole walls away in the castle! So Kirby is doin' pretty well."

"So what? It's still boring like this."

Fumu sighed and tried to ignore Bun and Tokkori, something that wasn't exactly easy when they were right beside her. "Vulcan Jab!" More attacks crashed into each other, but the sound only momentarily drowned out the absolutely pointless argument.

Meta Knight seemed perfectly able to ignore them, and even Dedede ignored them. Though Dedede at least seemed as bored as Tokkori. At least he didn't do anything stupid.

Fumu just wanted to turn around and tell Bun and Tokkori to shut up, when something happened in the fight between Kirby and Joe. Joe suddenly went rigid, eyes widening in surprise, and his whole body began to glow in a white light.

"The ultimate secret, Needle!"

His whole appearance had changed when the light disappeared. He would best be described as a spiked ball now, a spiked ball with an incredible angry look on its face. Fumu couldn't help but wonder if Meta Knight had known something like that would happen when he had said Joe was a demon.

Kirby had dispelled his copy ability, but even without one he was fast enough to escape the needles Joe shot at him. He picked one up, swallowed it and transformed again. His body turned yellow and his feet orange, and he wore a pink helmet with many needles.

"Needle Kirby." Fumu would also have guessed that, but when Meta Knight told them, she knew for sure at least.

Joe shot more needles at Kirby, but he just dodged and shot some right back. Joe lifted his arm to shield his face, but Fumu got the feeling Kirby hadn't even really tried to hit his opponent. Some needles scratched his arm, but most of them passed without doing any harm.

And before Joe had lowered his arm, Kirby was already sprinting in his direction. Kirby launched himself at Joe, and it was more his jerk in surprise than anything else that saved Joe from being hit.

Kirby landed a short distance behind Joe and instantly turned around. Kirby shot more needles, as did Joe, and some of them collided in midair. Most of them, however, missed the other's attack and went directly for Joe and Kirby themselves.

Dodging to the side, Kirby sent the next volley of needles already, to the place where Joe was now after dodging the other needles. Again Joe shielded his face with his arm, and again most of Kirby's needles missed.

Before Joe had even lowered his arm again, Kirby had attacked him this time. He tackled Joe to the ground, and before he even hit it, he was back to his normal appearance.

He kept lying on the ground for some seconds, then he slowly sat up.

"Kirby is a... mirror." Meta Knight had hesitated before saying 'mirror', there was no denying it, the only question was why he had done it. "He copied you, the form he showed was your own."

Joe looked absolutely worn out and like he would collapse any moment now, but he also looked at the ground, pensive. Then he looked directly at Meta Knight, something resolute in his look.

"I am not a demon."

Meta Knight didn't answer at first, maybe contemplating what exactly to say or maybe having no idea what to say. He suddenly turned around and walked away, surprising Joe most of all.

"No, you are not."

* * *

"Do you really have to go?"

"You really helped me out. It was fun."

Although Joe had really collapsed in the end, he was alright now. Fumu, Kirby and Bun had sneaked inside the castle with him, intent on getting him back to where he had come from. And for that they needed the transporter inside the throne room.

"Kirby, someday the time might come for us to fight together. I'll improve my skill until then!"

"Yes!" Kirby smiled up at Joe, who already stood on the transporter. He didn't hold a grudge although Joe had attacked.

Fumu nodded to herself and pressed a button on the console inside Dedede's throne. Light appeared all around Knuckle Joe and she knew it had been the right one.

She went closer to the transporter and stopped beside Kirby and Bun, all of them smiling up at Knuckle Joe and he smiling back at them. Then he was gone in a blinding flash of light.

Time to get away before Dedede noticed they had used the transporter.

* * *

**A/N:** Try to find the abilities I mentioned here, some of them might or might not become important again...

And for those of you who didn't notice, I changed the genre, or rather added a second one.


	15. Cold as Ice

**15. Cold as Ice**

To say it was hot, would be the understatement of the century. It was unbearably hot, and Dedede stressed that fact for the umpteenth time already. Though of course he had not listened to Escargon and had chosen a spot without any shade in sight to sit in; the sunshade really wasn't enough. And now he had to suffer, a fact that really wouldn't bother Escargon much if it wasn't for the fact that he also had to suffer the heat.

After receiving the silent treatment for some time, Escargon now had to carry out stupid tasks. It was still revenge for the prank he had played on Dedede, though so far Dedede hadn't exactly shown creativity with his tasks. It really only was what he had done before already.

Though now Dedede made Escargon fan air at him, but still complained about the heat. Of course he had also been unable to place the sunshade in a way to actually be sitting completely in its shade now. Sometimes Dedede seriously lacked thoughts it seemed.

"It's hot... it's hot... Fan harder!"

"I'm at my limit..." And really, Escargon was. Fanning for twenty minutes would normally not exhaust him to a point where felt terrible pain in his arms and felt like collapsing, but the heat was too much. Even Dedede was sweating although he didn't do a thing other than lying around, and Escargon just couldn't go on.

"I can't take it anymore!" Luckily for Escargon Dedede didn't feel like staying in the heat. "This weather will have to change, I'll make sure of it!" He stormed in direction of the throne room and Escargon knew what he would do. This could only go wrong.

"Your Majesty, how are you feeling today?" When Escargon finally arrived in the throne room, Customer Service had already appeared on the monitor.

"Bad, it's too hot! Aren't you the one who's causing this damned hot weather?"

"Of course not. We would _not_ do that." Escargon snorted, but went ignored. "So you just want a demon beast that can eliminate heat?"

"Yeah, send it at once!"

And of course it was sent. The transporter came to life and after a few seconds of the light show that always accompanied sending a new demon beast over, there was the new one.

Escargon was just as surprised as Dedede.

"What's this tiny thing?"

"That is Ice Dragon."

"What? Ice Dragon?"

That was far from what Escargon would have guessed. At first glance he would have said it was some sort of lizard, the size would certainly have fitted. Now that he knew it was actually a dragon, he could see it really was.

It was of dark green color with an underbelly of cream color and spikes on its back. A miniature dragon, not even as big as Dedede's hand.

Dedede picked it up and looked skeptically down at it. "That thing's a dragon?"

Obviously that had been the wrong thing to ask. Ice Dragon's expression had been pleasant enough, but now it had morphed into one of anger. Escargon was decidedly not sorry for what happened next.

True to its name, Ice Dragon breathed ice at Dedede and he instantly let it drop to the ground. It took one angry look at Dedede, ignored Escargon and Customer Service and then it was gone.

"Ah, it's cold!"

Deciding to ignore Dedede, Escargon went outside to look where exactly the dragon was going. He was surprised to see that it had already left the castle behind (how had it managed to get over all the walls?) and was running over the hills and disappearing somewhere out of view.

"Where is it?" Escargon didn't even spare Dedede a glance.

"Gone."

"This is great. This could be promising." Escargon's opinion differed.

* * *

He had really only sought solitude, but of course he wasn't allowed it. But it was the highest mountain around, so of course someone had to live there. That it was Dynablade, was just really unfortunate. And he could have avoided it if he had flown over it instead of climbing up.

He hadn't and so he was a little surprised when he found Dynablade and her chick atop the mountain. Now those were unpleasant memories. Meta Knight vividly remembered that he had lost against Dynablade and had ended up almost drowning in the ocean.

Though one thing he didn't remember and that was a little annoying right now. Why had Dynablade stopped attacking? He had never bothered to ask, though the cause for her attack had been the fact that Kirby had eaten her egg. Considering that he got a curious look from the chick that sat in the nest, that, however, seemed unlikely. That meant Kirby had not eaten the egg.

"Now what a relief." Meta Knight wasn't sure if they understood his sarcasm or even the words, but he also didn't care. Dynablade herself eyed him carefully, ready to defend her chick.

But Meta Knight didn't care much for them. He wasn't as alone as he had hoped to be, but at least he got a great view. Well, at least he could see everything. The village, a forest, the ocean and some other hills, the castle and grass. A great view indeed.

Meta Knight turned away, instead studying Dynablade and her chick. Dynablade almost looked exactly like when he had first seen her; a huge bird with feathers in different colors and armor. The only differences were the small scratches where Meta Knight had drilled into the armor with Galaxia.

The chick looked just like he imagined every chick to look like; small, yellowish feathers and helpless. Meta Knight frowned. No wonder Dynablade watched him, that chick wouldn't be able to do a thing to him or defend itself.

It really surprised him that Dynablade hadn't attacked him yet, she did remember him, he was sure of that, but she didn't even seem threatening. Only watchful. Then a new thing surprised him.

He hadn't paid that much attention to the weather, but he noticed when the temperature suddenly dropped quite a few degrees. It had been hot and the sky had been clear with no clouds.

Now the blue of the sky was no longer visible, hidden by the clouds. That was at least unusual for a country like Dreamland, but the snow that now fluttered from the sky was more than unusual. It was impossible.

"There shouldn't be snow in a southern country."

It wasn't much snow yet, but Meta Knight was sure it would be snowing stronger soon. It was certainly Dedede' fault, there would be one demon beast or another causing this weather phenomenon; he could name several able to do it. One of them was somewhere around.

After the GSA's destruction he had kept to warmer planets and he hadn't seen snow for quite some time. The last time had been a snowfield covered in blood. He liked snow well enough, but the first thought that came to mind was exactly that battlefield.

The GSA had lost, only one of many times for they had been stupid sometimes, but this battle he remembered with more clarity than others. It was the blood, he decided.

The battle itself was no different from others, just a battle between demon beast and members of the Galaxy Soldier Army. But on the snow covered ground all the blood was much more visible than on a dusty ground. All snow had been tainted by the red liquid and it had looked like an ocean of blood.

An ocean of blood with countless soldiers and demon beasts drowning in it.

It had been one of the more violent battles he had experienced. Fighting _against_ demon beasts at least, fighting with demon beast had always been bloody and cruel. There had been no place for mercy.

It snowed a little stronger now and Meta Knight's thoughts returned to the present. If it continued to snow like that, everything would be covered in snow by the next day at the latest.

Dynablade's expression had darkened and she looked at Meta Knight like he had been the one to cause the cold weather. The chick, looking at Meta Knight with a curious expression before, now had other things to do. It shivered with cold and now tried to get away from the cold wind, hiding inside its nest.

How unfortunate for them this happened now, when the chick was that young.

Meta Knight had enough. He wasn't as alone as he would have liked and the snow was at least curious, if not concerning. For now he wouldn't do anything against it because there was no real harm done, but should it continue to snow, he would investigate the situation on his own - if Fumu didn't decide to drag him along before that.

* * *

It was weird, really weird. Fumu had been swimming in the ocean with Kirby and Bun while Honey, Iroo, Hohhe, Lololo and Lalala had been building a sand castle. Then the weather had changed quite dramatically. It had been nice weather, hot even, but now that was gone. It was suddenly cold and all of them had noticed.

"What's going on?"

Fumu had hurriedly left the water, as had the other two, for it was becoming colder by the minute. It wasn't necessarily the water that became colder yet, but the air temperature had dropped dramatically, and as far as Fumu could tell, it was still becoming colder.

The formerly cloudless sky was now full of clouds, leaving it with a dark gray color that promised nothing good. None of them were used to bad weather because it was almost always sunny and they all waited expectantly for something to happen.

"Is it going to rain?"

It wasn't rain. Something came down from the sky, but Fumu had no idea what it was and neither had the others. It wasn't coming down like rain, it almost wafted through the air, slowly coming closer to the ground.

It was white and when Fumu touched it, it felt cold on her skin. It wasn't rain, but after she touched it, it turned into water on her skin. Curious. She was sure she had read about it at some time, though she couldn't recall the name right now.

"Oh?"

"This stuff is cold, Sis."

"Let's head home. I want to find out what it is." And so everyone went back to their respective homes.

It was already night when Fumu finally found out what exactly was happening. And she had only needed to read through five books for it.

Her mother had entered her room because she was concerned because of the cold, but Fumu didn't even really listen to her.

"Fumu, you'll catch a cold. Go over to the fireplace." Turning another few pages of the tome she had been browsing through, Fumu finally found what she had been searching for. Now she had her answer, though it also made clear that it had been Dedede's doing - again.

"I got it! This is snow! It's similar to rain, only it's frozen. Snow is also something that only falls in northern countries." Mystery solved.

"Snow?"

Looking out of the window, Fumu saw that it was still snowing outside even. The only question now was, when it would stop.

* * *

Obviously it hadn't stopped snowing for quite some time to follow. When Fumu looked out of her window the next morning, she only saw white. Everything she saw from her window was covered in snow. Everything.

Getting to Kirby had been the first problem of the day. And it had already started in the castle. She had thought there was much snow in the castle because everything was covered. That was nothing compared to everything outside of the castle.

It had taken Bun and her much longer than usual to get to the place where Kirby lived. But who was she to complain? The snow was unusual, impossible even, but she would enjoy the fact that it was there for as long as nothing bad happened.

The snow also left new possibilities to attract someone's attention. Bun had come up with it and promptly used it. Instead of walking up to the door and knocking, he threw balls of snow at the window until someone appeared. Unfortunately Kirby was hit square in the face and fell back down from the window sill he had been standing on, but at least it had been effective.

"What's this?" Tokkori was far from excited when he saw what had happened with the landscape.

"Oh?" Whereas Kirby seemed interested.

"That stuff is called snow." Kirby jumped down the window sill and right into the snow. He seemed fascinated and looked intently at the ground for a moment.

"Snow!" And then started running all over the place.

"I don't care for that snow stuff. It's cold. Take the other one also with you and leave... Oh, doesn't matter. He isn't even here." Tokkori banged the window shut, snow sliding down from the roof because of it, and left Fumu as the last one behind.

Bun and Kirby had taken off over the hills while Fumu had listened to Tokkori. Obviously he didn't like snow and just wanted to be left alone, even going so far as trying to get rid of Meta Knight. Only he wasn't present anyway, had left without him noticing.

Now what would Fumu be doing? Search for Bun and Kirby? Or search for Meta Knight? Meta Knight would certainly have some idea of what was going on, but he would also be absolutely unhelpful, would ignore her or would even send her away with threats, all depending on his mood.

Granted, she hadn't gotten any threats for a time now, in fact he had only _really_ threatened her once, but a repeat of that would be most unwelcome. So maybe it would not be the best idea to go looking for Meta Knight, searching for Bun and Kirby would be better or even trying to find out what exactly caused the strange weather.

Of course that couldn't be and of course she ran into Meta Knight. Literally.

* * *

He hadn't been paying much attention to his surroundings and obviously neither had Fumu. It shouldn't really surprise him much that she ran into him, but at least he wasn't the one to end up on the ground and covered in snow. It was weird how he always ended up meeting Fumu, even if he tried not to meet her.

Fumu seemed decidedly unhappy to be sitting in the snow and Meta Knight was quite sure she would blame it entirely on him. If he didn't do anything about it. So, just to avoid conflict, he did something that Fumu had not expected and that he normally wouldn't do. He helped her up.

Fumu looked perplexed, but took his offered hand and got up again. Maybe Meta Knight shouldn't have done that, now she seemed not angry but suspicious because he had helped her up.

"Thank you." Meta Knight heard the forced neutrality and was already resigned to his fate. "Do you know what exactly is going on?"

"You mean the snow?" Of course she meant the snow and of course he knew what was going on. She nodded. "A demon beast is causing it, I am sure. But until now I was not able to find out which one, as I have not found it, yet."

"I assumed as much. Any idea which one it might be or are you just stating the obvious? I also could have told you it was a demon beast." And there it was. She was doing her best to annoy him, but Meta Knight could also do that.

"If that is the case I wonder why you even asked me." That she had not expected. "I do not know which one is here, but I could take a guess that could either be wrong or right. Seeing as I was not able to locate it yet, however, I will not guess but rather search for it."

She frowned at him and Meta Knight couldn't help but feel like it was a victory. He wasn't exactly avoiding conflict anymore, but it was Fumu's own fault, after all she could have skipped her comment.

"Alright, I'll come with you. It seems at least more productive than what everyone else is doing." Indeed a snowball fight wasn't exactly what Meta Knight would call productive. That was exactly what the other kids were doing and even some of the adults were participating. It was hard _not_ to notice that none of them knew snow.

"Suit yourself." And of course she did follow him through the snow covered landscape.

He wasn't even actively searching for whatever caused the snow, just walking in some random direction and hoping he would find something. The snow wasn't bad, he could live with it. In fact it was more entertaining than anything else that had happened in the last few days. For now he would do noting against the weather, not as long as it wasn't harmful in any way.

So he ended up walking with Fumu for quite some time. At least she didn't complain, didn't even talk to him at all, something that surprised him. Normally Fumu would tell him one thing or another or try to get answers from him.

Now she was fascinated by the frozen pool they came across and made it obvious that she also had never seen anything like snow and the accompanying cold. "It's solid." She had taken a step onto the ice and now took another, but of course she didn't know that ice was slippery.

"Ah!" She ended up sprawled over the pool's frozen surface, lying with her face directly on the cold ice. Her tries to get up fast again proved futile because every time she tried, she landed right back on the ice. Meta Knight couldn't help but chuckle at the situation she found herself in.

But he took pity on her after a while. Fumu had managed to stand back up and actually keep standing without falling right back down again, but by now found herself almost in the middle of the frozen surface because all her attempts to get up had resulted in her moving father away from the edge.

"And how do I get away now?" That was where Meta Knight interfered. He had no problem with walking on the ice, contrary to Fumu, and it earned him another frown, this time certainly in frustration.

"How do you do that?"

"Don't try walking, you will only end up lying on the ice again. Try sliding. Chances are higher that you don't fall as soon again."

It looked far from graceful as Fumu tried to not walk but slide on the ice. And of course she ended up on her face again after only a few seconds of trying and glared at Meta Knight as if that had been his fault.

"You also don't slide but walk. Why is it that you can walk and I can't?" Fumu was sulking because she was still more or less caught on the ice and was still a few meters away from the snow-covered ground.

Meta Knight again chuckled at Fumu and she sent him her next glare. She had really been skating on thin ice at times and now she was doing it again - literally. At least she tried to skate, when in reality she failed miserably at that.

After another few tries to get away, Meta Knight finally helped her off the ice himself. Fumu would have managed some time soon herself, but why give her the pleasure of that?

"What are you doing?" He was more or less dragging her along until they had reached solid ground again (well, soil) and let go of her as soon as he himself had been away from the ice. Fumu took a mouthful of snow because she had been too surprised when Meta Knight let go of her.

Fumu had landed face first in the snow and now shook her head to get rid if all the snow in her face. "Ah... cold." She didn't even look quite as angry as Meta Knight had expected, in fact she didn't look angry at all. What a surprise.

"Finally. I thought I was never getting away. Feel free to help me sooner next time, though." Fumu actually smiled at him and Meta Knight wondered what was wrong. Why would she smile when she had landed in the snow because of him (_of course_ that had been an accident)? She couldn't just be grateful, sooner or later she would have managed to get away from the ice on her own.

That was when he suddenly ducked to get away from the snowballs Fumu was throwing at him. He dodged the first one, but was hit with the second because he had still been thinking then. At least it explained why she had smiled. To lull him into a false sense of security.

She was astoundingly accurate with her snowballs and Meta Knight saw the need to defend himself. It was absolutely immature of him, but Fumu had started it. This line of thinking was also immature, but he didn't care.

After being hit by another snowball, Meta Knight retaliated. And where Fumu's aim had been accurate, Meta Knight's aim was perfect. The first snowball he threw, hit her square in the face and Fumu dropped the snowball she had been holding in her right hand.

Meta Knight waited, waiting for Fumu to do something. She wiped the snow away, frown on her face. Then she started throwing again. "This is for... everything you did!"

"You throw snow at me for everything I did? You certainly don't lack creativity; other people just try to kill me for it." Meta Knight dodged to the side and avoided any more hits. Not that he would be affected in any way by _snowballs_, but it was annoying.

And Meta Knight decided right then that he had enough. Wrapping his cape around himself, he disappeared from view for Fumu, only to reappear directly behind her. "Did you ever think about the fact that I could be retaliating in a way that is not throwing snow back at you?"

Fumu stopped breathing for a second. She hadn't turned around. "You won't."

"And why do you think so?" It was Bababagahara all over again. Only this time he wouldn't be collapsing and losing consciousness.

"You do endanger everyone with your presence, but you also try to keep them safe. I am also one of the people you try to keep safe, so it wouldn't make any sense for you to harm me."

"Well reasoned, but I fear not quite right. I am the reason that your little village is in danger, one reason at least. I do not think that Dedede will stop to get rid of me any time soon, not before he is dead at least. But don't believe that I protect the village just because it exists. It is a little more of a challenge when you try to keep people safe while fighting."

Fumu did turn around now, looking at him with a dumbfounded expression when she heard that reasoning. "But you had trouble fighting against some of the demon beasts without even protecting anyone!"

"I have been holding back. Kirby has the ability to copy other abilities; I have other abilities, one of which is extremely useful when fighting against demon beasts. You have seen it already, twice in fact. I used it on both Urameshiya and Knuckle Joe."

"Urameshiya... that ghost didn't even attack. Why would you use an ability on it? And why only now and not on other demon beasts before that?" Much to her surprise Meta Knight answered her questions.

"I used it to send it directly at Dedede, otherwise it would have just hovered around him. And I could not use the abilities before. I only can since I _released_ them in Bababagahara." A look of understanding was on Fumu's face.

"But I did not need any of my abilities until now." Meta Knight drew his sword and Fumu took a step back, prompting Meta Knight to laugh darkly at her. "This is not a normal sword. It is Galaxia, a legendary weapon, forged by the race of light, Photoron. It is superior to other weapons and more than enough to get rid of most demon beasts. And unlike other swords I can use more than Sword Beams with it."

He didn't prove his point and simply sheathed Galaxia again. It was more information than what Fumu normally got anyway. Though she didn't seem quite happy with it yet.

"So you say you are stronger than every demon beast anyway, but now even more because you can use some abilities? That is arrogant." Meta Knight frowned at Fumu, though of course she couldn't see it.

"It isn't arrogance. It is the truth. And there are people far more arrogant."

"There is always someone more arrogant. It doesn't change the fact that you are acting arrogant and it could lead to you underestimating opponents." Maybe he should be grateful for that honest opinion, but he wasn't.

"I assure you that I can kill all demon beasts Nightmare has at his disposal. I know them. I will not underestimate them, after all I know what they are capable of."

"I warned you. It is not my fault if you end up dead."

"No, it is not. But I doubt you would be too sad if I died. Everyone else would certainly react with more sadness than you." Of this Meta Knight was pretty sure, Fumu had far less reason to be sad if he died than all the villagers.

"Because I know you. They don't know your cruel and heartless version like I do." Meta Knight couldn't quite identify Fumu's expression, but it wasn't anger.

They had been standing around for some time now, beside the frozen pool that had trapped Fumu earlier. Now Meta Knight began to walk in the direction they had been coming from earlier again. Fumu followed without hesitation, this time continuing their conversation and not walking in silence.

"I can change that." Fumu stopped abruptly, looking incredulously at Meta Knight.

"What?"

Sometimes he wondered why Fumu always reacted like that when he acted in a way that fit her perception of him. "Don't act surprised. You think I am dangerous, cruel, heartless, and yet you constantly are close to me. You know me better than anyone else here. Maybe it is time to change that and prove your point, I will certainly find a way."

"You can't do that!"

Interesting. "And why can I not do that? It is for the best, everyone will know what a _demon_ I am." Fumu was silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating.

"What would you do?" It wasn't more than a whisper, barely audible over the crunching of the snow under their feet, but Meta Knight heard it.

"Kill the demon beast responsible for the weather." Meta Knight saw confusion in Fumu's expression and smirked at her, unseen. "I mean _kill_, torment, destroy, and not defeat, in front of everyone to prove how cruel and heartless I am. I would say that that should be enough."

Fumu's cheeks were red because of the cold, the snow she had been hit with, but Meta Knight was sure she would have gone pale if it wasn't for that. "Blood... you never saw snow covered in blood. I will make sure all of you will carve that sight into your memory forever."

Fumu looked decidedly disturbed by now, exactly what Meta Knight had aimed for. "Don't worry, I will leave this planet as soon as possible. Then there will be no danger from me at least anymore."

"What?" Even more surprise, which was completely unsurprising to Meta Knight. "Why would you leave? And more importantly how?"

"Do you think I am here of my own free will? Did you forget that I crash-landed? I am only still here because Dedede and Escargon destroyed my ship and I have not been able to fix it, yet. As soon as I fixed it, I will be gone."

Fumu had opened her mouth, but made no sound, just stared at him. She had stopped again. "Come along, Fumu. Unless you want to be left alone in the middle of nowhere and in the cold."

Fumu did follow, but it was obvious that she didn't pay much attention to her surroundings. She walked through a bush covered in snow without even noticing and just stared ahead. Maybe it would have been better not to tell her.

The plan to find whatever demon beast was responsible for the weather, had dispersed for the moment at least. Meta Knight didn't feel like really searching (not that he had before), he didn't mind the snow for now and he also had to find it when the villagers were close. He fully planned to go through with killing it in front of them.

Fumu kept silent for the whole time, thinking about everything Meta Knight had told her; Meta Knight didn't mind the silence.

It wasn't long before Meta Knight and Fumu saw several of the villagers. Meta Knight didn't know if it was still the same snowball fight or a new one, but now it was an all-out snowball war. Earlier it was mostly kids versus adults; now there was nothing like sides recognizable. Everyone threw snow at whoever was closest or tried to throw in some cases. Some people were bombarded from several sides and were unable to retaliate in any way, others were the ones bombarding people.

When the first snowball came flying in their direction, Meta Knight knew that he most certainly would not stay around and get hit. Meta Knight swiftly sidestepped and frowned at the Cappy who had thrown at him. He didn't know the name, didn't care for the name, but if he dared to throw at him again, he would retaliate.

Lucky for them none of the Cappies were stupid enough to throw at Meta Knight again. He and Fumu were not close enough to be dragged into the whole thing anyway, as the battle steadily went farther away from them.

It took a turn for the weird when Dedede decided to get involved. "Stop!"

"Idiot." Meta Knight wholeheartedly agreed with Fumu's muttered comment. Dedede had made Escargon drive the tank again and he did obey Dedede's command. Unfortunately the tank didn't obey Escargon and skidded a few added meters over the ground because of the snow, before coming to a halt shortly before a tree.

Everyone looked dumbly at Dedede for a moment.

"You-" Escargon saw the danger and did the right thing. He got out of the tank as fast as possible and ducked behind it. Dedede was hit by more snowballs than he could count. He had intruded into an ongoing battle and everyone had decided that he was a convenient target.

"Hey!" He didn't even get to shout whole sentences because he was relentlessly hit with more snow. It only got better when he decided to throw back at a random Cappy. Everyone else dispersed and it became a fight of attacking the closest person for everyone again. Meta Knight wondered what it would take for them to stop.

"I'm safe..." Escargon had managed to leave with receiving surprisingly few hits and had reached Meta Knight and Fumu on their little hill overlooking the others. He seemed relieved to be away from the fight.

Everyone else seemed content with their places. Meta Knight saw Kirby taking a hit right in the face, but he seemed unconcerned and threw snow at everyone close enough himself. Even if he wasn't having fun Meta Knight wouldn't help him and risk being hit himself.

"Dedede ordered a demon beast." Meta Knight turned his attention to other things after watching several other people get hit for a moment longer. It hadn't even been a question from Fumu.

"Was it the snow that gave it away?" Fumu frowned at Escargon's deadpan expression. "Do you want me to deny it now? Of course he ordered one. Customer Service sent Ice Dragon, a tiny little dragon, but obviously it is strong enough to cover everything in snow."

"Ice Dragon is the one he sent? Perfect." Indeed it was perfect. Ice Dragon was big and slow and wouldn't be able to defend itself against Meta Knight's fast attacks.

"Are you really going through with what you told me earlier?" And again there was the disturbed expression. It didn't help to keep Meta Knight from smirking darkly at Fumu, prompted him to do so actually.

"Yes, absolutely."

"Why would you do that?"

"Why would I need a reason?"

Escargon looked from one to the other, not getting what they were talking about. It made the whole thing even funnier for Meta Knight.

"What exactly are you two talking about?" Fumu pursed her lips, not telling Escargon a thing. Meta Knight was all too happy to tell him himself.

"I will change everyone's perception of myself to something a little more realistic." Escargon didn't look quite as disturbed as Fumu, but Meta Knight was sure he had figured out what exactly that meant.

"I don't think I actually want to know what exactly you mean with that, do I?" Of course they couldn't see it, but Meta Knight was sure both Fumu and Escargon knew he was smirking at them. "I'll correct myself: I'm _sure_ I don't want to know. But I fear you'll tell me anyway."

"No, Fumu can tell you. I will leave now before someone gets the idea to drag me into that silly snowball fight." And with that he was gone.

* * *

Nothing much happened for the next three days. Meta Knight had let Ice Dragon be, as had Fumu. Fumu had treated Meta Knight like a ticking time bomb in that time, all the more so after all kids sans Fumu had teamed up against Meta Knight in another snowball fight (more a surprise attack than an actual fight) and had hit him several times.

Meta Knight had reacted with indifference (at least it looked like that), but he was aware of all the worried looks Fumu kept sending him. It was time he got rid of Ice Dragon, then at least her looks of worry would turn into something else. And after three days of waiting he finally got the opportunity.

Contrary to the villagers Meta Knight was aware that it was actually getting colder and colder. Fumu had also been aware of this, but Meta Knight had ignored her and she had dropped it after a while. Only now, on the fourth day with snow, became the villagers actually aware of the increasing coldness.

Meta Knight watched them as Fumu told them again, and this time they did believe her because even they had noticed. Now it wasn't even hard for Fumu to convince them that there was a new demon beast, when they had pleasantly told her that that couldn't be the case before. As if snow would ever fall in Dreamland without a demon beast.

They played right into Meta Knight's cards when all of them wanted to search for the demon beast responsible and didn't break up into groups for it. Their reasoning even made sense; they didn't want only a few people encountering something dangerous, but rather all of them so they had a chance against it. Of course they ignored that not even the whole village had a chance against it.

Fumu's attempts to get them to form groups were in vain and she had to admit defeat after a while. All of them left to search for Ice Dragon and Meta Knight followed them in some distance as to not be noticed just now. He regretted his decision only shortly after that.

It took them more than three hours to find Ice Dragon, and when they did, they didn't even know what to do. Once again Meta Knight's perception of the villagers proved correct. They were absolutely useless.

"That looks dangerous..."

"It's huge!"

"What do we do?"

Those and other useless comments were what greeted Meta Knight when he arrived. Fumu was the first one to see him because she was the one in front of all villagers and the only one brave enough to turn her back on Ice Dragon. All villagers kept their distance and were still between the trees, when Ice Dragon itself was in a clearing.

Fumu's face fell as soon as she saw Meta Knight standing behind the villagers. They hadn't noticed him yet because they were trying to figure out if it would be a good idea to run away or not.

"We can't attack it."

"I agree, it's too big for us to attack it."

"We should run and leave it to Kirby or Meta Knight!"

Unfortunately for them they had left Kirby and the other kids behind and they weren't anywhere close. Good for Meta Knight, bad for them.

"There is no need to run away. I will take care of it." Meta Knight stepped forward and promptly got all attention.

"It's Meta Knight!"

"He will defeat it!"

He would go a little farther than that even, but they would notice soon enough. He would be smiling at them now, but it didn't matter because they couldn't see his expression anyway. And because of this he didn't smile and just nodded at them, acknowledging their comments.

Then he turned away from them, took notice of Fumu's glum expression, and went closer to Ice Dragon.

It was nothing like Escargon had said when he had described it as tiny. It was a huge dark green dragon, as huge as some of the snow covered trees surrounding it. It had been blowing ice into the sky and had either ignored everyone present or had not noticed them, but as Meta Knight came closer, it stopped and looked down at him.

The angry expression was all the warning Meta Knight got before the dragon tried to stomp him to death. It was faster than the last time Meta Knight had met it, but it would be of no real consequence as it was still too slow to hit him with an attack like that.

Meta Knight dodged to the side and instantly attacked himself. His Sword Beam collided with one of the huge razor-sharp snowflakes Ice Dragon launched at him, but cut through and only didn't hit the dragon because the snowflake had partly deflected the attack. The other two snowflakes coming at Meta Knight were simply cut through with Galaxia.

"Ooooohhhh!" The sound of awe all villagers made behind him was a little annoying, but Meta Knight had more important things to worry about. Like the fact that Ice Dragon was trying to freeze him solid with its icy breath.

Running away was the only logical thing to do, and Meta Knight did just that. Trees that were hit were completely frozen, and even the snow that was hit, turned into ice. But Meta Knight was far too fast for Ice Dragon and managed to get to its back without it being able to turn around fast enough.

His next Sword Beam hit the dragon right above its left arm and it howled in pain. Blood ran down its left arm and whole left side, and some of it landed on the ground, clearly visible against the white snow.

But that wasn't all. Ice Dragon turned in Meta Knight's direction in anger and shot more of the dangerous snowflakes at him. He sidestepped the first and destroyed the others with Galaxia, then moved at a speed far exceeding his earlier speed directly at his opponent.

Ice Dragon was unable to keep up with his speed and the next thing it did, was howl in pain again. Meta Knight had stabbed it in its right foot, but instantly backed off as it instinctively breathed ice in his direction.

Meta Knight retreated in direction of the still watching villagers, an expression of indifference at Ice Dragon's wails of anguish behind his mask. The villagers' awe was gone and they weren't cheering him on because even they had realized that he was purposefully inflicting pain on his opponent.

Ice Dragon, at the other side of the clearing, was going on a rampage because of its pain. Its tail wildly swung around and uprooted some of the smaller trees, and at the same time its breath froze everything in its path.

"Why did you..?"

Meta Knight turned around, the indifference gone and replaced with coldness. "I told you, Fumu." Fumu pursed her lips, looked unsure what to do. The villagers around her mirrored that expression, none of them exactly sure how to react to the situation. None of them had really experienced Meta Knight like this or they had chosen to ignore it.

Meta Knight laughed at them, a dark sound that made some of them shiver, and then turned back in his opponent's direction. "I think your point is proven, Fumu." He didn't see her reaction, didn't even care for it, and made ready to kill the demon beast.

He slowly approached Ice Dragon, and as soon as it noticed him, its wrath turned from the landscape at him. It was of no consequence. Before he was close enough to be in its range, he had already cut it down without the use of a Sword Beam. If he had abilities, he would use them.

Another sound of anguish from the dragon was his reward and a bloody slash across its whole chest. It collapsed, a bloody form on the ground, but it wasn't dead yet. It growled in anger and pain, blood escaping its wounds, and it tried one last time to hit Meta Knight with an attack.

The mouth was open and it was about spew its icy breath at him again, but Meta Knight wouldn't let it. Before it was able to attack him, Meta Knight had moved to the side and stabbed it in the throat. From behind him he heard some people gasp, but ignored it in favor of focusing on the suffocating noises Ice Dragon made.

He pulled Galaxia back out of its throat, and the suffocating noises continued, until Ice Dragon went still after a few moments.

Demon beasts had a habit of exploding after being defeated, Ice Dragon, however, did not. Maybe it was because he hadn't cut it in half like he had done with demon beasts before, but Ice Dragon slowly faded away and left nothing behind. Nothing but his bloodstained weapon and the bloodstained ground, the blood now covering the still present snow.

Meta Knight was sure all villagers had a good view on all the snow covered in Ice Dragon's blood all around him; some of them looked quite sick, others only horrified. He was quite sure they would remember this.

With Ice Dragon's death the clouds in the sky disappeared and it became warmer. The snow was already slowly melting and in a few hours there would be no traces of it left. The Cappies looked around them, many still with an expression that almost screamed that they didn't know how to react. The only one not looking around was Fumu.

She went closer to Meta Knight, but stayed clear of the blood he was still standing in. "What did you accomplish with that? Are you happy now?" Fumu managed a glare, a fact that only amused Meta Knight. Not for long, though.

"Am I happy? Why would you ask this question? Do I seem like I am ever happy?" His tone was bitterer than he had intended and Fumu's eyes slightly widened at his words, but he didn't care. "And what I accomplished with this? _Nothing_. That is the whole point!

I am still the same person, the same _demon_. I did not change in the slightest, I only changed everyone's perception of myself. I would have killed Ice Dragon the same way, even if it wasn't for the villagers and you know it. But I chose to show them what I did, I chose to show them the truth!"

Meta Knight wasn't sure if everyone else was able to hear what he talked about with Fumu, but it didn't matter. He was angry, couldn't even tell whom he was angry at, but it all collapsed on him because of Fumu.

"It's punishment, isn't it?" Only four words, but they were enough to visibly stop Meta Knight from shouting more. "For what, I wonder."

Meta Knight briefly hesitated and he was sure Fumu noticed. "Perceptive, aren't you?" He went away from the blood, turning his back to Fumu and all the villagers watching him at the same time. "I will leave soon, then you don't have to wonder about things like that anymore."

He didn't turn around to see Fumu's expression.

* * *

**A/N:** Meta Knight throwing snowballs at Fumu does seem out of character, no? Well, what would you do if someone threw snowballs at you? Either you run away or you retaliate and throw right back. Retaliation in Meta Knight's case would normally end up with his opponent dead, so I'd say Fumu ended up quite fortunate. ^^

So now, some people seeing where this is going? Like Meta Knight not exactly being the good guy? ;)


	16. Traitor

**16. Traitor**

_"It's punishment, isn't it? For what, I wonder."_

_"Perceptive, aren't you? I will leave soon, then you don't have to wonder about things like that anymore."_

He hadn't denied it, had rather confirmed it with his next words, but then had dodged. Fumu had thought about the words in the week that had passed since then, hadn't thought of much else, but had still no real answer.

It was punishment, he had all but confirmed it, but still she didn't know for what exactly. For the past, the present or even the future? She didn't know and Meta Knight wouldn't tell her and she couldn't even ask him because he was gone. She didn't know where he was and neither did anyone else, not even Kirby.

He had told her that he would leave, and for a moment she had thought that he was completely gone from the planet and would never return. But he wouldn't do that without telling Kirby, she was sure of it. Though even Kirby didn't know where he was right now.

It was hard to say what everyone thought about the fact that he was gone. Dedede of course didn't care much for that and would be all too happy if he would never return. With Escargon she wasn't too sure, but she was never sure with him anymore. Her family was... well. They weren't worried yet, but she was sure they would be if only enough time passed.

And then there were the villagers. The kids were kind of sad that he was gone, but they knew he would sooner or later return and he wasn't often in the village anyway, so it didn't matter too much to them. The adults were a different story.

They had seen what Meta Knight had specifically done to change their perception of him and he had succeeded - partly. They didn't wait eagerly for his return, but they also didn't mention that they didn't want him back. Fumu had asked and had found out that the general opinion was that what Meta Knight had done had been right. Cruel, but right.

Meta Knight would certainly not believe her if she told him that, after all his goal had been to change their whole perception of him. That at least wasn't the case.

But Meta Knight had never cared much for the villagers. They didn't know him and he had never given them the opportunity. Fumu wasn't sure how much Kirby knew about Meta Knight, but she guessed it was more than she did.

Which was weird, because he hadn't denied it when she had told him that she knew him. She was sure Kirby knew more, but still... He had been right when he had said that she was constantly close to him. It was stupid, he was dangerous, but he was also right.

Fumu's life had been boring, she freely admitted it, and then Meta Knight had crash-landed. He had been interesting from the beginning and Fumu was the only person he had deliberately talked to.

She had soon noticed that he was no knight in shining armor, he was a demon himself, but still he protected them and killed the demon beasts Dedede sent at him. He was the target, but everyone was in danger when the king sent his next monster and Meta Knight took care of it. She had deluded herself into thinking that he cared at least enough to keep everyone save. It had been a surprise when he had told her that he just saw it as a challenge.

But she couldn't shake the feeling that he had been lying. She really did know him and he knew that (which was why he hadn't denied it), and she was almost sure that he had lied then. She didn't know why and he would never tell her if she asked him, but he had lied.

Though maybe it didn't even matter.

"Sis, are you alright?"

Fumu blinked in surprise. She had spaced out, for several minutes in fact, and she had no idea what chief Borun and Mr. Curio had been talking about. No, that wasn't quite right. She knew what they had been talking about, but she hadn't listened to them.

"I'm alright." She smiled at Bun, and he turned back to listen to what Professor Curio had to say.

"This scroll contains writing on the battle techniques of the ninja."

"Ninja?"

Curio laid the scroll he had been holding onto the bench. This scroll was the reason why Fumu and the other were even there in the first place. Someone had tried to steal it the night before and no one knew who it had been. Gengu behind them took pictures of the scroll.

Fumu looked closely at the scroll, but she wasn't able to read it. It was written in a language she couldn't understand, or rather she didn't even understand the letters.

"I can't read it."

"It's the alphabet of a distant foreign country. At any rate the ninjas left a record for their descendants to learn their techniques from generation to generation."

"So those signs describe attacks?"

"Ninjas were the strongest of warriors. They ran like the wind, could disappear at will and walk on water..."

"That's so cool! Right, Kirby?"

"Yes!"

Fumu had spaced out again. The description Curio had given, sounded a lot like Meta Knight. She wasn't sure about the walking on water part, but he was far faster than anyone else and he had disappeared only to reappear directly behind her. He didn't seem much like a ninja, but he at least possessed some of their abilities.

Had there been ninjas on Nightmare's side or the Star Warriors' side? Meta Knight would certainly know and Fumu would ask him when she saw him next. Depending on his mood he might even answer her, and she thought that this was a question he might even be willing to answer her. When he returned...

* * *

Boredom was the price he had to pay to keep out of everyone's view. It was pretty pointless even in his own opinion, especially now when he was actually able to leave the planet. His ship had been fixed more than two months after it had been destroyed and was ready to fly through space again.

For one day it had been finished now, but he hadn't made an attempt to use it yet, had rather decided to watch everything going on in the village out of sight for everyone. It wasn't that different from all the things normally going on. The villagers were still the same people they had been a week ago.

A fact that left the question of why he had even tried to do anything. Ice Dragon's violent death had clearly not been enough to make them fear Meta Knight, but he wondered why he even still bothered. It didn't matter, he would be gone soon and they would never see him again, none of them.

Kirby would protect them, and even if he wouldn't really like it, Meta Knight would leave him behind. He couldn't take Kirby with him anyway. Though it would be a good idea to remind Fumu of the Warp Star. Thinking about it he noticed that he had never really explained it to her.

It was ridiculous. It almost felt like regret when he thought of leaving, though it was because he would be leaving Kirby behind - again. He wouldn't miss anything or anyone else in this village and it would be better for them anyway. Dedede didn't hate Kirby nearly as much as he hated Meta Knight and there would be less demon beasts to deal with.

Though for now there were more pressing matters. He wasn't sure about the ninja hiding in the village yet, but he didn't really seem threatening, or competent and dangerous for that matter. He had been the one trying to steal the scroll from Curio, though Meta Knight hadn't figured out why yet. He would have to take a look at the scroll for that.

The ninja hid close to Curio's place, though rather sloppily at that. Meta Knight of course had no problems to see him, and, if they only cared to look, neither would everyone else. They didn't care to look, but Meta Knight didn't expect him to attack anyone. He seemed fixed on the scroll and nothing else.

Everyone else also seemed fixed on the scroll, or at least the fact that it was a _ninja_ scroll. It looked a little ridiculous that all of them walked around in ninja clothing and with (fake) weapons, though maybe Meta Knight shouldn't be too surprised because that was just how everyone in this village was.

But it was even more ridiculous that the "ninjas" were unable to detect him and were quite easily frightened by his appearance. Clearly unfitting for a ninja.

"Whoa!"

He had surprised Kirby, Bun and their friends, but they did take it surprisingly well. They didn't seem utterly frightened at least.

"Where have you been?"

"Around." And that was really all the answer that they needed. "What exactly is going on in the village?" He already knew, or had a good idea of what was going on at least, but it would be best to actually have it confirmed.

"You don't know? Curio got a ninja scroll and someone tried to steal it. Ninjas are so cool!" All kids simultaneously nodded their heads.

"This is why you are all dressed like this?" Again all kids nodded their heads.

"Yeah, we all wanna be ninjas, too!" As if to prove their point they threw some fake shuriken at the Cappy closest. They were well aimed, except for Kirby's, but the Cappy managed to dodge. Maybe the whole thing wasn't quite as pointless as he had thought.

"Is everyone walking around dressed as ninja?"

"Pretty much." One of the other kids (he didn't even know the name) knew more than Bun it seemed, though.

"You forget Fumu, Bun. I think she is the only one who isn't dressed like a ninja." Of course, that wasn't too surprising. "Though Dedede and Escargon also looked normal when they stole the scroll."

"Oh... you're right."

That was a little surprising to Meta Knight. How could he have missed that Dedede now had it? Though if Dedede had the scroll it wouldn't be too much of a problem to get a hold of it. Even less so if Escargon had it.

"Wouldn't it be cool if we had the scroll? We can try to get it from Dedede right now!"

"Poyo!"

"Yeah!"

At least they seemed enthusiastic. Not that Meta Knight cared much for that, but it would only end in chaos if they tried to get it, and it would put Dedede on guard. It would be so much more annoying for himself to get it then.

"That would be stupid." That got their attention. "Try later, when he is asleep. It will be easier then."

"You think so?" Meta Knight only nodded in response, after all he had just said so. "Then we'll do it then! Let's go practice to hit a target with the shuriken!" And they were gone, leaving Meta Knight behind. They were all far too focused on being ninjas.

Meta Knight got curious looks from the other people, maybe because he wasn't dressed like them, maybe because he had disappeared for some time. He didn't know the reason and he didn't even want to know it. That was why he left the village and didn't stay around for someone to talk to him.

His steps took him to the castle after a few minutes, after realizing that until now he hadn't used the fact that he had access to it now. The Waddle Dees at the gate looked at him, but didn't pay him any special attention or tried to get him out. A welcome change that he could now enter if he wanted to.

Though what he witnessed wasn't exactly what he had expected.

Just like everyone in the village, Dedede had also decided to play ninja. Only he took it a little farther then everyone else. He was throwing actual shuriken at Escargon and Waddle Doo, both of whom he had obviously forced to play along.

"Your Majesty, stop!"

"Escargon, Waddle Doo, prepare yourselves!"

The shuriken came pretty close to both of them, but none of them hit. Escargon and Waddle Doo ducked and split up, one running left and the other right.

"I'll get you!"

The next shuriken almost hit Meta Knight, but Dedede hadn't even noticed that he was there and had randomly thrown some. That was probably a good thing, Meta Knight really didn't feel like being shouted at. Too bad then that Fumu also almost became a victim of Dedede's random shuriken and she did notice Meta Knight and also tended to shout at times.

"What an idiot. Even Dedede is pretending to be a ninja?" She looked disapproving in his direction, before her gaze landed on Meta Knight. "At least you are not pretending to be a ninja, though I guess you are the only one around who doesn't need to pretend that."

Surprising. "Not quite. There was an intruder in Curio's shop after all."

"You think it was a real ninja?" She had caught on quickly, but it didn't really come as a surprise, Fumu always was much faster than everyone else with things like that.

"I know it was a real ninja." More ninja than the villagers at least, even if he didn't seem to have much talent. "But it is of no real consequence."

"What do you mean?" Meta Knight felt her questioning look, but chose to ignore it and instead opted to enter the castle. In the background he heard someone throw a smoke bomb.

"Don't ignore me!" Of course Fumu did follow him as he went through the hallways, looking around and wondering what exactly to do now that he was there.

"I do not have to answer your question if I choose not to." It certainly infuriated Fumu more, but at the same time amused Meta Knight. "The ninja will be no problem. They were proud members of the Galaxy Soldier Army once, but this one isn't like that.

The ninjas fought like phantoms, appearing and disappearing at will, and because of their strength, many enemies feared them." Looking back at Fumu, he noticed that her face now held a curious expression.

"So there did some survive the war."

"There were other ninjas and not just members of the Galaxy Soldier Army, and I do not think the one that I know is here ever fought in a war, but yes, some ninjas survived. Unfortunately." And chances were high that _he_ would sooner or later appear now.

"Unfortunately? But you fought together with them, didn't you? Wouldn't you be glad some of them survived?"

Meta Knight stared at her for a moment. "You have to make up your mind." He was rewarded with a surprised expression. "You can't seem to decide if I am a Star Warrior or a demon beast. Though it doesn't matter in this case, because me fighting with the Galaxy Soldier Army doesn't necessarily mean that I ever was a member, does it?"

More surprise, though Meta Knight wasn't sure if it was because of what exactly he had told her, or because he had told her anything at all.

"You really don't want to meet the ninja I am thinking of, and neither want I. Yamikage defected to Nightmare's side, so if you ever come across him, make sure to get away from him." Fumu totally ignored that.

"You weren't a member of the army? But you introduced yourself as a Star Warrior!" He had stopped beside some random door, wondering what was inside. He thought he could hear people talking behind it.

"And how do you know Meta Knight is even my real name?" That shut her up. "I can tell you many things, but you don't know if I tell the truth. And even if I tell the truth, it is still all a matter of perception. You saw what I did last week, it only changed perception."

Fumu opened and closed her mouth, but didn't seem sure what to say at first. "So Meta Knight isn't your name?" Meta Knight sighed in frustration because that was obviously what concerned her most. It was weird how she focused on that and not the part about him telling the truth in general or not.

"Does it matter? You will still call me Meta Knight, even if I tell you a different name now."

"Even so it's still not your name, or at least not your first name. Did you come up with your name yourself? And what is your real name?" There was only honest curiosity now in Fumu's look, but Meta Knight wondered why he had even told her that.

Before he could answer, they were interrupted, though. The door they had been standing beside for some time now, turned out to be the door to Fumu's home. Meta Knight couldn't have known, but the fact that both her parents looked curiously at them, was a dead giveaway.

"Oh? I thought I heard voices. So it's Meta Knight and Fumu."

"Oh what a surprise. You rarely are in the castle."

Great, the pleasant expressions promised nothing good and Meta Knight would like nothing more than to get away. He saw Fumu beside him had a knowing expression on her face and knew he wouldn't exactly like what was going to happen.

"Wouldn't you like to come inside?" Memu's smile was disarming and while Meta Knight was absolutely immune to that, he had hesitated to answer a moment too long.

"Of course he would like to." Fumu had answered for him and Meta Knight only had the options to play along or act incredibly cold. He played along for now, but only because he had the feeling that it would be absolutely pointless to act cold in front of Parm and Memu.

"Gladly." He forced himself to not sound impassive, but was sure at least Fumu had noticed it anyway. He wasn't sure with the other two, but either they hadn't noticed or didn't care.

A few seconds later he found himself sitting at their dinner table, surrounded by Fumu and her parents. Silence stretched for a moment and Meta Knight couldn't say he felt comfortable. At least Fumu on his right seemed just as uncomfortable and didn't know what exactly to say. She deserved that.

"So, what have you two been talking about?"

"The weather." It was a lame answer, but it was the first thing Meta Knight thought of and he didn't want to talk about their previous topic anyway. Fumu had opened her mouth, certainly to object, but her mother was faster.

"Oh yes, it's such pleasant weather." Parm nodded and Meta Knight couldn't believe they actually believed him. Any doubts he might have had that there was someone nearly as smart as Fumu or Escargon in this castle, were gone.

"It sure is, dear."

"The weather is almost always great, except for that time a week ago, when all that white stuff came from the sky. What was the name again?"

"Wasn't it snow?"

"Yes, exactly that. It was terribly cold."

Whatever plan Fumu might have had when she had dragged him into this situation, seemed to not have worked. Her parents were caught up in their own little conversation and ignored Fumu and Meta Knight for the moment. Meta Knight was all too happy to be ignored, Fumu sighed in apparent exasperation.

"But the weather is back to normal now, dear. And I don't think there will be snow again."

"I do hope so, the weather was far too cold for my liking." Meta Knight wondered why he didn't just act unfriendly to get away, but instead endured that boring conversation he wasn't even part of. Maybe because it was now pointless anyway, after all he would be leaving soon. Though Fumu got them away from her parents.

"Oh I forgot you wouldn't know your way around here. Of course I can show you the way. Come on." Meta Knight didn't comment on her absolutely lame tactic and just followed her out. He wasn't sure if Parm and Memu had even noticed.

Fumu hurriedly left her home, Meta Knight close behind her. The door had barely closed when Meta Knight already had to comment on the whole situation.

"Whatever you tried to do, I am sure _that_ wasn't what you had in mind." Fumu's expression was somewhere between anger and absolute frustration.

* * *

Meta Knight still remembered the first time he had ever met Yamikage.

He had been dragged along, against his will he might add, and had almost run into the ninja.

"Watch it!" That had only been the start, after his first words Yamikage had recognized him. "You are that demon we picked up."

Meta Knight had nodded, unconcerned by the fact that Yamikage had recognized him and seemed to dislike him. As far as he was concerned, he would never meet the ninja again. That had been wrong, they had met quite often after that.

It was also the time that Yamikage had first betrayed the GSA to Nightmare. Meta Knight couldn't be completely sure of that of course, but it made sense in retrospect that it had been around that time. It explained why Yamikage was especially hostile towards Meta Knight the first few times they met, after all he had betrayed Yamikage's new master.

"Betrayed your master and now are fighting for the other side? The GSA really became weak." Looking back Meta Knight was sure Yamikage had also referred to himself then, but he simply hadn't cared right then. Meta Knight had passed him without acknowledging him further, cold and uncaring like he had always been around the GSA.

Their next meeting hadn't been much better. It took Meta Knight and Yamikage several more meetings to not show their obvious dislike of each other. After that they had at least gotten along, though Meta Knight certainly wouldn't call it a friendship.

Then Yamikage had fully betrayed the GSA, and Meta Knight had last met him on a battlefield in a fight for life and death. Neither of them had died, although they had both tried their very best to kill each other.

Meta Knight just knew they would try again soon; the presence of a ninja in the village was all the indication he needed. Dedede would make sure to send a real ninja if all villagers were already dressed as one.

* * *

Obviously the ninja had been stupid enough to get caught, or at the very least be spotted. If the fact that there was an ear-shattering alarm from the castle wasn't enough, it would have been obvious because said ninja openly ran through the village. Amateur.

At least he had the scroll that Meta Knight himself had failed to get. He had soon left the castle after he had left Fumu's home, after ignoring further questioning from her that is. Dedede had had the scroll himself at that time and it wouldn't have been too smart to try and get it from him.

When Meta Knight had left, Dedede had still been terrorizing Escargon and Waddle Doo, who at least had both defended themselves then. Waddle Doo had deflected the shuriken with his sword and Escargon had thrown shuriken back at Dedede. It still wasn't exciting enough for Meta Knight to stick around, though.

He had been standing on the big tree right in the middle of the village for some time now. It had been the best place to observe everyone else, and also a place where he could be sure no one spotted him. It was incredible how many names he had learned from observing the Cappies, when he had ignored them and their names before.

The ninja ran full speed from Fumu, Kirby and Bun some distance behind him, but he didn't get too far. The whole village had been alerted by Dedede's alarm, and the ninja was met with an army of villagers dressed as ninjas.

"You can't run away! You're under arrest!" The ninja had stopped, looking a little surprised at all the people blocking his way. Just like everyone else he wore clothing instantly identifying him as a ninja, only his was of dark red color, contrary to everyone else's.

After his surprise, he reacted fast. Chief Borun had been in his way, but he jumped over him and was behind him before the chief could react. That didn't mean there was no one else in his way, though. In fact the whole village was in his way.

All at once they threw their fake shuriken, and the ninja was forced to shield his face with his arm. In defense he even threw a smoke bomb at the ground and was gone from everyone's view but Meta Knight's. That was quite unsurprising when he chose the same tree Meta Knight was currently in as a hiding place and didn't even notice that he wasn't alone.

"What's with this village?"

He seemed to feel safe enough because there were at least none of the villagers in sight, but Meta Knight wouldn't stay uninvolved any longer. "Bad choice."

"Whoa!"

The ninja jumped in surprise as Meta Knight approached him from above, and he lost his footing. The tree branch he had been standing on cracked, and he fell to the ground, unable to hold onto another branch.

"Wha!" And of course he landed right in front of Fumu, Kirby and Bun - who did ignore him in favor of looking at the scroll, which now hung from the tree, clearly visible for everyone close enough. Close enough were actually only those three and the ninja himself, though. Meta Knight stood above them (still unnoticed by the three newcomers) and couldn't see it; the villagers were notably absent - all of them.

"The scroll!"

The ninja got up quickly and jumped in front of the scroll, hiding part of it from view for the kids at least.

"Don't look! I'm the ninja Benikage! Don't get in my way!" The shuriken in his hands were threatening and Meta Knight had no doubt that he would throw them for one reason or another.

"Those are real shuriken, Bun!"

"Do your worst!"

And that was probably the stupidest thing he could have said. "I will!"

Fumu and Bun were both obviously afraid; Kirby was for some reason quite fascinated by what was going on. It wasn't too hard for Meta Knight to decide what to do.

He jumped from the tree shortly before Benikage threw his shuriken. Right in the way as he was right now, Meta Knight had no choice but to take the hits - not. Both shuriken were caught in midair, eliciting reactions of awe from three out of four.

His mouth was covered, but Meta Knight was almost sure that Benikage gaped at him. At least he caught himself pretty quickly again. Meta Knight would only just have had enough time to kill him.

"Damn it!" The next few shuriken followed, but Meta Knight saw that all of them would miss anyway. He didn't move, but all of Benikage's weapons missed him and the kids by at least a meter.

"Looks like you are pretty bad at throwing shuriken..."

"You are as bad as Kirby."

It came as no surprise when the ninja broke out into tears after that. Meta Knight was tempted to hit him just because of that, but settled for a scowl in his direction. It didn't help.

"I can't do it after all..." The few tears from before were nothing compared to what followed. How no one else heard him was actually a mystery to Meta Knight, he would have guessed that the whole of Dreamland would be able to hear him.

"What do we do now?"

"No idea..."

"Poyo!" Kirby at least was still cheerful. He was undisturbed by all the tears that streamed down the ninja's face.

One hit on the head from Meta Knight later, Benikage had shut up. He sent wary looks in Meta Knight's direction from time to time, but had started to explain why he was in Dreamland.

"It looks like a ninja scroll, but it's my transcript from Ninja School. At one point it was stolen from a thief..." Meta Knight wondered who stole transcripts and really bad ones at that. He had taken a look now, and knew that Benikage had failed everything.

"So somehow it ended up here, and Mr. Curio got it."

"What do you need it for?"

"I was a hopeless student, who couldn't even throw a shuriken well. The only thing I was good at, was using smoke bombs to get away. As usual my results were all triangles, it's all clearly written on this."

He briefly glanced at Meta Knight and turned back to his transcript again. Meta Knight was less than impressed.

"So those triangle marks are bad."

"Yeah... I didn't want anyone to see them."

"I can understand that." Fumu looked at him, her expression pitying.

"Alright. You are Benikage, aren't you?" The ninja nodded and Bun continued. "I'll train you. You aren't the only one who is no good at throwing shuriken." Bun pointedly looked at Kirby, who didn't seem to care much for the fact that he obviously also couldn't throw shuriken.

Meta Knight's and Fumu's surprise at Bun's words went ignored. Though Meta Knight at least decided not to participate in their training.

* * *

"A ninja you say? That is just perfect then." After the ninja had stolen the scroll the night before, Dedede had decided he wanted to get it back. And what better way was there than a demon beast?

"What do you mean?" Dedede wasn't sure if that smile on Customer Service's face was a good thing or not, though.

"There is someone just perfect for that job and he also happens to know Meta Knight."

"Oh? Sounds interesting. Send him over!" Now Dedede was really interested. If he was perfect it was likely that that guy also was a ninja, and if he knew Meta Knight it was even better.

Customer Service complied after a few seconds and the transporter began to glow and emit sparks. Another few seconds later a new demon beast appeared in front of Dedede's and Escargon's eyes.

Dedede had been correct with his assumption that it was another ninja. He wore black ninja clothing, had a brown ponytail and wore a katana on his back. The only thing that could be seen of his face, were his eyes. They were red and there was a scar on his left eye.

"Yamikage here is more than capable of handling all your problems. Have fun." The last words were directed at the ninja and he inclined his head in thanks.

"What business do you have with me?"

"There is something important I want you to steal!"

The ninja turned away from him. "I'm not a thief." Not quite as planned, but that wouldn't be too much of a problem.

"What about a ninja scroll?" That got him attention. "You also happen to know Meta Knight, don't you? Get rid of him when you're at it."

"As you wish." He nodded his head once and then went in direction of the door.

"Escargon, show him the way." Escargon looked surprised at Dedede, but he didn't care. There was a reason why wanted to get rid of Escargon for the moment.

"Yes, of course." Escargon hesitated briefly, but then did as ordered and led the ninja out.

Customer Service had been watching the exchange with interest and now turned to look at Dedede again.

Dedede waited for a moment, until he was absolutely sure that Escargon wouldn't be able to hear anything he said. Then he turned to Customer Service.

"You know, I wanted to ask you somethin'..."

* * *

As far as Meta Knight knew no one in the village even knew that Bun was training Benikage and Kirby. It was more target practice than anything else, but from what Meta Knight could tell from the tree he was standing on, neither Benikage nor Kirby were actually improving.

None of their shuriken had even hit the target so far, and Meta Knight was tempted to throw one of the two shuriken he had taken from Benikage the day before, just to prove that someone was actually able to hit and that from a far greater distance.

It wasn't Meta Knight who hit.

"You did it!"

"Which one of you hit?"

Neither Kirby nor Benikage had hit, but Fumu and Bun didn't know that yet.

"It wasn't me." Then they knew it had been someone else.

Meta Knight jumped down from the tree he had been standing on when a kunai came his way. He landed in front of the kids and got a good look at Yamikage. He looked exactly the same as he had when Meta Knight had last seen him.

"Something tells me that ninja is dangerous..." Fumu was correct, but Meta Knight didn't bother to confirm it for her. He glared at Yamikage, who looked back at him, neither of them talking.

They kept this up until the kids behind Meta Knight became uncomfortable and whispered things to each other. Meta Knight couldn't understand them, but he didn't care for it.

"Why are you here?"

"The first words in so many years and you demand an answer from me? Where are your manners, Meta Knight?" Yamikage shifted his gaze from Meta Knight to the kids, only for a moment, but Meta Knight saw it nonetheless.

"I was sent to get the scroll back. However, the secondary objective is to kill you. So if you would step aside, your turn will come soon enough."

"And you believe I will just let you do as you please? You are gravely mistaken if you think I will let you do anything else than die at my hands." Anger bubbled inside of Meta Knight; Yamikage had never been a friend, far from it even, but they had known each other well enough. He was one of the reasons why the GSA had been destroyed in the end.

Part of it was their sheer incompetence, another the fact that they had pointedly ignored Meta Knight. It had been easy for Yamikage to destroy them with the superior numbers he had been attacking with, all too easy to destroy the only force strong enough to oppose Nightmare.

It had been years, and Meta Knight was angrier at the GSA for ignoring him in that case and dragging him into their battles, but there was still more than enough anger for Yamikage present.

Meta Knight was visibly shaking now, both in anger and anticipation. His anger had accumulated with time, and while it certainly wasn't only directed at Yamikage, he was the one unlucky enough to have Meta Knight's anger unleashed upon him.

Meta Knight was well aware that his eyes had tinted red in his anger, and that he might be at a point beyond return now, but he was also beyond caring. Yamikage tensed and instantly his hand went to the katana on his back.

Meta Knight whipped Galaxia out and a Sword Beam was on the way to Yamikage before he had the time to draw his own weapon. The ninja barely got out of the way and Meta Knight's attack left a trail of destruction on the ground, raising dust the whole way to the tree it finally hit.

Now with his katana drawn, Yamikage threw a shuriken at his opponent as soon as he had the opportunity. Meta Knight was rushing at Yamikage, trying to engage him in close combat, and ran right into the path of Yamikage's weapon. Still he managed to dodge, at the same time coming closer to Yamikage - too close.

Meta Knight lunged at his opponent with Galaxia, and Yamikage had to use a two-handed grip on his katana to keep from losing his weapon. He was pushed back and only wasn't injured because he surprised Meta Knight when he suddenly stopped pushing back. Meta Knight stumbled a step forward, but instantly slashed at Yamikage, who used the second or so he had bought himself to jump away.

Yamikage was already panting from the attack and Meta Knight growled in anger at him. He had ignored the other three, but saw all of them watching their fight from the corner of his eye.

"A lesser opponent would have died because of my attack. Impressive how you managed to not only survived, but also without injury." Yamikage's eyes narrowed for he recognized Meta Knight's mocking tone.

"You will notice that I have more impressive abilities." Three shuriken, thrown in rapid succession, all missed Meta Knight, but as Meta Knight had to notice they hadn't even been intended to hit him, but just to get him to attack.

The first strike Yamikage blocked, the second one pierced right through his chest. Meta Knight was sure of his victory, about to laugh because it had been so _easy_, when Yamikage in front of him disappeared with a little flash.

Acting fast Meta Knight jumped to his left, but was still cut on his right arm by Yamikage, who had appeared behind him. Still in his now useless motion to get away from an attack, Meta Knight spun in the ninja's direction and attacked with another Sword Beam.

Yamikage countered with a Sword Beam of his own, and both collided in an explosion. Before the dust had settled, two more shuriken came at Meta Knight, both of which he deflected with Galaxia.

He had come closer to the others and now he could hear what they were saying, possibly because Fumu was talking directly to him. "Are you alright, Meta Knight? You are bleeding."

He hadn't even noticed, his anger and rage overruling the pain of such a shallow cut. He had realized that he had been cut by Yamikage, but it wasn't important enough to deserve any of his attention. He also didn't answer Fumu, only sparing them a single glance when he was sure Yamikage wouldn't attack him.

"Koppa Mijin no Jutsu. You are a master at using this technique. I should have known you would use it when I easily hit you."

"I am a ninja. It is my job to deceive people, that is also the case with my attacks."

"Yes, you are quite good at deceiving people. Tell me, what did Nightmare promise you if you betrayed the GSA?" Meta Knight didn't really care, but his question obviously hit a nerve because the ninja reacted with anger.

"Look who's talking! You are the perfect example of a betrayal, after all you betrayed your master and fought for the pitiful army opposing him, the emperor of the universe!" It was more than enough answer for Meta Knight.

Yamikage's words were full of venom, full of anger, and they weren't solely directed at Meta Knight. Nightmare had promised him something in return, Meta Knight was quite sure of that, but he hadn't kept his promise. It didn't matter, Yamikage still worked for him because he enjoyed suffering and could spread evil throughout the universe like this.

They eyed each other, both pairs of red eyes meeting, and Yamikage was the first one to attack this time. "Fuujin no Jutsu!"

A gust of wind shot at Meta Knight, caused by Yamikage slashing his katana through the air. It wasn't enough to send Meta Knight flying.

Fire was best fought with fire, Meta Knight fought wind with wind. "Tornado." He had told Fumu that Galaxia wasn't a normal weapon and it certainly wasn't. No normal sword would be able to unleash a whole tornado, the wind Yamikage had released with his katana was the maximum.

Yamikage's attack was no match for Meta Knight's. His, still pretty small, tornado didn't even struggle against his opponent's second wind attack, and Yamikage was blown off his feet and landed with a painful sounding crash in the grass a few meters away. But it was far from over.

Yamikage, still on the ground, didn't even wait to get back up with his next attack. He threw a shuriken, though not at Meta Knight. He had aimed at the kids.

Meta Knight moved as soon as he had realized it because he couldn't be sure if they would get out of the way. He jumped and swung Galaxia to hit the shuriken in mid-air. He was sure even he had hit it, but the blinding hot pain a moment later proved him wrong. His anger wasn't enough to overrule this pain.

He was still in motion from his try to stop the shuriken and didn't exactly land gracefully on the ground again. He skidded a little over the ground, but couldn't bring himself to care. Galaxia was dropped to the ground and his right hand went to his left eye immediately because that was where the shuriken had hit him.

"Gah..." Either Meta Knight was really lucky or really unlucky. A little more to his right and he would have lost his eye, a little more to his left and the shuriken would have missed. As it was the shuriken had hit right beside his eye, causing Meta Knight to ignore everything else because of the pain.

He also didn't see Yamikage coming at him again and didn't hear the kids' warning shouts.

Meta Knight grabbed the shuriken and pulled it out again with a jerk. Pulling it out was even more painful than keeping it in place and now blood freely flowed out of the wound. With the shuriken still in hand, his glove now bloodstained, Meta Knight looked back to where Yamikage had been. Only to notice that he was directly in front of him, katana ready to strike.

Meta Knight instinctively jumped away when he saw Yamikage already in a stabbing motion and managed to barely get away, but had to leave Galaxia behind, his only weapons now the shuriken with his on blood in his hand and the two shuriken from Benikage.

Surprisingly Yamikage hadn't followed and still stood in the same place, giving Meta Knight the opportunity to take in the situation again. The kids had come a little closer, but still were some distance away. Meta Knight's vision was blurred because of the blood in his eye and he could also feel it running down his face and surely it was also running down his mask. Yamikage stood directly in front of Galaxia.

"Ironic, isn't it? That I will kill you with your own weapon now." Meta Knight was sure Yamikage smirked at him right now.

"The chances of me killing you with this shuriken are higher than you killing me with Galaxia." Meta Knight managed to speak without showing the pain he felt right now. Chances of killing Yamikage with a shuriken were pretty small, but Meta Knight was sure it was impossible for Yamikage to kill him with Galaxia.

"Oh? So sure of yourself? You always were arrogant. I will prove you wrong and I will enjoy it." Yamikage bent down to pick up Galaxia and Meta Knight made ready to attack him.

Yamikage picked Galaxia up, but not even two seconds later Galaxia emitted crackling electricity and Yamikage shouted in pain and surprise. Meta Knight had expected it and sprinted at Yamikage. He tackled Yamikage, who lost Galaxia in the process and hit the ground.

Meta Knight ignored him in favor of picking up Galaxia again, this time with his left hand, but it didn't matter to Meta Knight. The ninja picked himself back up from the ground and looked at Meta Knight, who had started to laugh darkly, in surprise. Then his eyes narrowed.

"You knew this would happen."

"I hoped you would be electrocuted actually."

Yamikage's eyes narrowed even further, his stance tense. He switched to a two-handed grip on his katana. "I will have to get serious then."

This certainly didn't bode well because Yamikage was also pretty angry, and Meta Knight took a defensive stance, Galaxia in his left hand, shuriken in his right hand. He eyed Yamikage carefully, ready to act as soon as he saw him move.

Like this they remained for some time, neither taking his eyes of the other and neither moving, glaring at each other. Then both moved at the same time, meeting in the middle and their weapons clashing.

Their weapons were kept in deadlock for some seconds, but then Yamikage overpowered Meta Knight, his two-handed grip giving him the upper hand. Yamikage pushed and Meta Knight had to retreat when he saw his chance.

"You have no chance. I advise you to surrender."

"I will fight until you are dead."

"Suit yourself." The ninja threw yet another shuriken at Meta Knight, which he dodged, but he wondered how many Yamikage still had left. If he was hit by another one he would have to take some drastic measures.

Yamikage came at him with his katana again with three strikes that Meta Knight parried without much trouble. From the next overhead strike he jumped back, only to attack Yamikage only a moment later himself.

Like this it went back and forth for some time, Meta Knight countering Yamikage's attacks whenever possible, but neither able to hit the other.

Then Meta Knight saw his chance. He parried an attack and at the same time threw the shuriken from earlier at Yamikage. The ninja was unable to dodge and was hit in the arm, losing his grip with one hand on the katana.

Meta Knight kept going and with an upward cut he disarmed Yamikage, his katana flying through the air and out of reach for him. Yamikage backed away, but Meta Knight wouldn't let him go. He caught the katana and attacked his opponent with both weapons.

His first strike with the katana, now in his left hand, was blocked with a kunai. The second strike with Galaxia followed immediately after, and Yamikage had no chance to block it. He saw the danger, but wasn't fast enough to completely avoid being hit.

Galaxia's tip hit him close to the place where he had been hit by the shuriken before, and it showed. The blood stains were unmistakable, even when his clothes were dark.

Meta Knight saw Yamikage look at him in disdain, but he also saw the faint outline of uncertainty. Yamikage had lost his weapon to Meta Knight, and he would know that shuriken and kunai wouldn't be enough to defeat Meta Knight.

Though Meta Knight had forgotten about the smoke bombs.

Yamikage didn't throw them at the ground, however. Two smoke bombs came flying at Meta Knight, and he cut them both in half, one with either weapon. It was enough to distract and effectively blind him, though, because even if they were cut in half, they still worked.

Unable to see, Meta Knight did the logical thing and obviously exactly what Yamikage had expected. He rushed out of the smoke and was promptly hit with a kunai in the left arm, another kunai only barely missed him.

Meta Knight countered with a Sword Beam, and at the same time got rid of the kunai. He already had a weapon in each hand, also two shuriken, and didn't need another one right now. The kunai was dropped and kicked in the ninja's direction, who evaded the Sword Beam, but was hit with the kunai. Fortunately for Yamikage it only was the handle which hit him.

It was distraction enough for Meta Knight to use. Another Sword Beam from the katana was also evaded, but Meta Knight had only used it to keep Yamikage busy.

Again the first strike with the katana was blocked by a kunai, the second one, however, hit home. There already was a scar on Yamikage's left eye, now there would probably another one under his left eye, where Meta Knight had hit.

The ninja cursed loudly and jumped back, trying to get away from Meta Knight, but to no avail. Meta Knight followed and slashed at Yamikage whenever he got the opportunity, and Yamikage wasn't able to defend himself properly with only a kunai.

Soon blood wasn't only flowing from under his eye and from his arm, but from several cuts all over his body. Meta Knight didn't fare that much better; both his arms were bleeding slightly and he felt blood trickle down the left side of his face. It would certainly look like he cried blood, at least if Yamikage was any indication.

Just like Meta Knight's injury beside his eye, Yamikage's wound under his eye also was the injury bleeding most. In both cases the blood ran down their whole bodies, in Yamikage's case clearly visible on his clothes, in Meta Knight's case visible because it also ran down his mask.

Where Meta Knight had no trouble yet, however, Yamikage was obviously feeling the blood loss from the other numerous small injuries. He swayed slightly, and even his hateful glare in Meta Knight's direction couldn't hide the fact that the ninja would be having trouble fighting on.

"You have lost, Yamikage. You can not defend yourself against my attacks with your pathetic little kunai any longer." Meta Knight knew it was the truth, and it was deeply satisfying to say it out loud.

Yamikage didn't even argue it, kept his glare on Meta Knight's face. Finally, after a few moments of silence, some Meta Knight enjoyed immensely because he saw that his opponent was far worse off, Yamikage spoke. He didn't lose his glare in the least.

"You are right, I have lost this time. But we will meet again and next time I will kill you."

Meta Knight was already in motion, but was too late as Yamikage disappeared in a puff of smoke, gone. He only arrived after the ninja had already disappeared, a moment too late.

Standing on the spot where Yamikage had been, Meta Knight cursed inwardly, biting his lips to keep himself from cursing out loud. It was no use, his still red eyes indicated his anger anyway, and the fact that he did curse out loud only moments later and attacked the closest thing, which happened to be a tree, only proved that fact.

With a shout of rage the tree was gone, obliterated, pieces of wood raining down on him, and even reaching Fumu, Kirby, Bun and Benikage. They shielded their faces and backed off to get away from the pieces crashing all around them.

He saw their fearful looks at his rage, realized he was going too far, but still his rage didn't diminish. Destroying the tree had only been satisfying for a few seconds, but his rage still burned with a flame too intense to just disappear any time soon.

Even the rain that was slowly trickling down from the sky now was not nearly enough. It was as if heaven was crying because of what had happened, but only Meta Knight himself realized it at that time and couldn't care less for rain. It did nothing to erase his rage, rather fueled it even only with its presence.

The urge to destroy, _kill_ something was almost overwhelming, and Meta Knight had to get away to not attack someone.

He was aware that for all intents and purposes he was the one who had lost; in a way much more than Yamikage could ever have lost.

* * *

**A/N:** I think that was still inside the T rating. The rating will be changed to M, however. Maybe next chapter already, maybe a few chapters from now. But it will definitely be changed. You have been warned. ;)


	17. The Fires of Hell

**17. The Fires of Hell**

_Meta Knight had known from the start that it wouldn't end well. He had felt it, and his feeling had proven correct.__ Unfortunately he could still do very little against that and his only concern right now was to stay alive._

_The GSA's winning streak had been almost ridiculous for some time now, and Meta Knight would almost call it bad luck that he was involved in the fight where they were losing and quite badly at that._

_The rocky ground crunched under his feet as he turned around to defend himself against yet another attempted sneak attack. He blocked the strike and jumped back immediately __after, dodging another strike from his left._

_He bumped into a soldier of the Galaxy Soldier Army, but ignored it after a quick glance and went back to fighting his own opponents. _

_Galaxia severed limbs, and shrieks of pain filled the air all around him, but Meta Knight hardly noticed. The blood of enemies was covering him, but even that he hardly noticed. Surviving was the top priority and everything else didn't matter for now._

_It was quite some time before the fight stopped, and that only because the GSA soldiers had fought with all vehemence they could muster up, although they had been hopelessly outnumbered._

_They had dealt Nightmare's forces a considerably blow considering their number, but in the end it had been no use. Meta Knight didn't know how many soldiers had survived and he couldn't be bothered to find out right now._

_Not that he cared particularly much for their number of survivors anyway__, but the less other targets there were for the demon beasts, the harder it would become for himself to get away from them. _

_Meta Knight had realized that fact; trying to fight his way through would accomplish nothing other than kill him. It hadn't been too hard to get around most demon beasts, though. The foolish GSA soldiers that had been left alive had attacked the opposing forces, even as badly outnumbered as they were, and had left Meta Knight enough time to get away. _

_From most demon beasts at least._

_They had briefly clashed during the battle already, but __had parted because of things beyond their control. Now Meta Knight knew Wolfwrath was in pursuit of him, following through the rocky landscape._

_Normally he would gladly fight it, but after the fight he was exhausted, slightly injured and saw the need to recover first. Running away wasn't his style, though he would make an exception in this case. He should have known he would be stopped, though._

* * *

How easily plans could be foiled.

He had planned to leave the planet, and yet Meta Knight was still on Pop Star. He had lost himself in his rage and didn't even see a possibility to return. Tried... he had tried and even succeeded for a time, but there was no way around his true nature.

Nightmare himself had created him in darkness, and he would never be able to escape from it. His very being was ruled by darkness, everything he did inevitably ended in darkness.

It was just as well.

He had never tried to be nice to anyone and he would be leaving. It wouldn't really matter to any of them, and he could finally stop to pretend. People had called him heartless, and he wouldn't be denying that.

He had never even pretended to feel compassion, it was for the weak. Only the strong survived, and his power, the power of darkness, made him strong. He would be unleashing it on everyone who stood in his way.

His rage wasn't gone, would probably not go away for quite some time, but it was manageable for the time being. He had calmed down enough to not attack anyone approaching him at least.

The landscape around him, however, wasn't as fortunate. It had suffered greatly under his rage, looked like a battle had taken place when in fact only Meta Knight had destroyed it. The darkness was such a powerful tool if one only knew how to use it.

Meta Knight looked around, expression impassive. Trees had been destroyed, cut in half, uprooted, and the ground had been cracked. His look darkened when he remembered the cause for his rage.

Though it was over for the moment.

Maybe because Meta Knight realized that it was the end.

* * *

Escargon gave up, Dedede was gone. He had searched for what felt like days, and Dedede just couldn't be found. He hadn't seen him since the day before, when Dedede had sent him off with the ninja actually.

The ninja had found his way without any help. As soon as they had reached the gates after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, he had left and Escargon hadn't seen the need to follow.

He had later learned that that ninja had been defeated by Meta Knight, though not killed. Neither Fumu nor Bun had been too vocal when Escargon had asked them what exactly had happened, but he at least knew that the ninja still lived and that Meta Knight was obviously really... displeased because of that.

Fumu had used this word, but it was clear to Escargon that she actually meant furious or, judging from her look, something even more serious. He had wisely not asked any questions after that.

That explained what had happened to the ninja Dedede had sent after the scroll and Meta Knight, but it didn't explain why there was no trace of the king himself. As far as Escargon knew, Dedede didn't even know Yamikage had been defeated and that wouldn't be the cause for his disappearance.

Getting desperate, Escargon even asked the Waddle Dees, or at least Waddle Doo as he couldn't understand the countless Waddle Dees around the castle.

"Have any of you seen his Majesty?"

None of the Waddle Dees had in the last few hours and Waddle Doo also hadn't seen him.

That was when, after searching for three hours, Escargon gave up. Dedede would appear sooner or later again, if he didn't... Well, Escargon would think about that when it actually happened.

* * *

Customer Service smiled his usual pleasant smile, and Dedede found himself more bothered by it than usual. It seemed wrong to him because it suggested happiness (although he was well aware that it was an act by now) and if there was one emotion Dedede didn't feel right now, it was happiness.

He had frowned before already, but when it also took some time to send a new demon, he had enough.

"What's takin' _that_ long?"

Customer Service's smile didn't falter in the least. If possible it even got wider just to spite Dedede, but maybe he just imagined that. He would surely know customers complaining by now and was used to it.

"Don't worry, it will be sent."

And true to his word the transporter lit up, indicating the transfer of some new demon beast, hopefully strong enough to kill Meta Knight this time.

It looked dangerous at least. A red wolf with a menacing look in its golden eyes. That green gem on its forehead looked weird, but who was Dedede to complain? The six spikes on its back, the sharp claws and teeth at least were enough to convince Dedede that this one might be more than a little trouble for Meta Knight.

"This is the demon beast born in the fires of Hell, Wolfwrath." Dedede had though the electricity he had seen had been from the transporter, but in fact it was coursing through the spikes on the demon's back and all around it. It looked more and more promising.

Dedede allowed himself a smirk, annoyance if not completely gone at least not quite as noticeable as before. "Will it be able to kill Meta Knight?"

Wolfwrath's eyes and the gem lit up for a moment at the mention of Meta Knight's name, but Dedede wasn't sure if that had been the cause. Standing on two legs now it looked intently at Dedede.

"Wolfwrath is more than capable of doing that. Meta Knight may be strong, but Wolfwrath is one of our absolutely best. He will stand no chance."

Dedede looked back at the wolf and it still looked at him. Then, without warning, it shot a fireball in his direction.

Dedede had been sitting on his throne when that happened, and to get away, he took a dive at the ground. With a crash the fireball sped past him and hit the wall behind his throne. Angrily he got up again, just as Wolfwrath was jumping over him.

Almost in instinct Dedede whipped his mallet out and smashed it into Wolfwrath's side.

The wolf, wholly unprepared for that assault, didn't quite reach its goal of jumping completely over Dedede. The force of the hit threw it off course, and it landed two meters beside Dedede on all fours.

Snarling it stood to its hind legs, and its fur ruffled up. Dedede frowned deeply at the demon beast, mallet at the ready. One of them would have attacked the other in the next few seconds, had it not been for Customer Service's interference.

"That's quite enough." He didn't even raise his voice, but Dedede felt compelled to at least look away from the wolf. His frown turned to Customer Service, as did Wolfwrath's snarl, but neither of them attacked the other.

"I would advice you not to attack Wolfwrath, _your Majesty_. Unless you want to be killed." Dedede was about to retort in anger, but was completely ignored as Customer Service turned his attention to the wolf.

"Don't kill him if possible. He has some value to us and we would hate it if everything we did, was useless in the end." Wolfwrath glared at Customer Service and again at Dedede before dipping its head slightly, obviously in agreement to at least try.

Dedede didn't take too kindly to being ignored or being talked about.

"That _thing_ attacked me, so don't go tellin' me what to do and not to do!"

Wolfwrath bared its teeth at him, but Dedede wasn't too concerned by that. It had orders to not attack him, and he would be damned if he was as easily killed as Customer Service had implied.

"That may be the case, but you would do well to remember that things have changed a little. You still have authority in your castle, but technically Wolfwrath here wouldn't even have to take your orders although you are a customer. Never minding the fact of course that it won't take orders from you anyway."

Dedede's frown deepened. "So you're sayin' I'm not as important as before?"

"You are just as important as before. However, your situation changed and, as I said before, technically Wolfwrath doesn't have to take your orders. No demon beast has to, but as you still are a customer, they have to because of that." Dedede's frown hadn't diminished.

"That's stupid!"

"But it was your choice."

As much as he would like to deny it, Dedede knew Customer Service was right. His pleasant smile firmly in place, Customer Service turned at Wolfwrath again. "You may proceed. Find Meta Knight, and kill him."

The wolf growled affirmative and was gone, through the hole it had blasted into the wall.

Dedede looked after it with an angry expression. "That thing better kills Meta Knight."

Customer Service only chuckled in response.

* * *

It was strange that Escargon hadn't been able to find the king, but it was even stranger that not even the Waddle Dees knew where he was. It was strange because there were many in the castle, and it would be almost impossible not to meet any.

Come to think of it Waddle Doo himself also hadn't seen the king since the day before. Normally he made him do all kinds of things (if he didn't make Escargon do them), and Waddle Doo had been surprised when there had been nothing for him to do. It was a welcome change, though.

Currently he was walking rather aimlessly through the castle's hallways; there were enough Waddle Dees patrolling anyway, and it made no real difference if he also patrolled or if he didn't. He was the captain, but the king and Escargon really only needed him to relate what the Waddle Dees said. Normally he didn't get to do any challenging things.

That changed right then, however.

Waddle Doo wasn't exactly sure where the red wolf suddenly came from (venturing a guess he would say the throne room), but the fact that it looked with a hungry expression at him, made him uncomfortable, really uncomfortable.

It had stopped, its eyes glowing for a second, and another second later Waddle Doo found himself on the floor. A fireball had smashed into the wall beside him, and the blast had sent him crashing to the ground.

He groggily got up again, only to notice the wolf coming closer. That was bad, Waddle Doo needed to get closer to defend himself, but it seemed dangerous and it was still too far away to use either his sword or his beam ability.

Three more fireballs came at him; two missed, the third came directly at him. Seeing no other way to defend himself, Waddle Doo did something he wouldn't do again if he could help it. His beam crashed into the fireball, and Waddle Doo was lucky to not be caught in the explosion.

He felt the heat wave roll over him and took a step back because of it. That was his luck, without that one step he would either have been dead, or at the very least have been injured.

The wolf's claws missed him at about an inch and smashed into the wall instead, leaving some claw marks behind. Waddle Doo turned around in surprise and saw the claws coming at him this time. Normally he would have used his sword to defend himself; there was no time for that, however.

His beam hit home, and the wolf backed slightly off after being hit. The fact that there now was electricity coursing through the spikes on its back didn't seem too good, though. Waddle Doo did the smartest thing then.

He got away as fast as possible, while that wolf seemed paralyzed by his attack.

* * *

"Your Majesty! Where have you been?"

Escargon was surprised when he found Dedede after he had already stopped searching for him. Finding him in the throne room was not that much of a surprise, but the fact that he suddenly appeared there and none of the Waddle Dees had known it was.

"Not here!"

Someone was in a bad mood, it seemed. Maybe that was because there was a gaping hole behind the throne, but that, of course, was only Escargon's guess. Though he didn't even want to know what kind of demon beast had caused that.

Dedede frowned deeply at Escargon; obviously he was even in a really bad mood. He was sitting on his throne and had been glaring at the monitor showing Customer Service before he had noticed Escargon. Something had happened, something Escargon couldn't quite guess yet. And if Customer Service was present there was no way around a demon beast.

"What happened here?"

"None of your business!"

Now Escargon also frowned. There was something even more wrong than he had first assumed. Dedede was rarely if ever friendly, but this was a little too much even for him. He wasn't just unfriendly, he was aggressive, and Escargon got the feeling that Dedede would like nothing more than to attack someone.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I am! Now get lost!"

Escargon did, for his own continued safety.

* * *

Fumu was bored, but couldn't bring herself to actually do anything. Watching Bun and Kirby play soccer in the castle's courtyard was really all she could do right now. At least it distracted her from other topics she really didn't want to think about right now.

"Nice going, Kirby!" He had headed the ball to Bun perfectly, and Bun only needed to kick it at the goal now. He would have hit the part of the wall that served as goal, had it not been for the red wolf suddenly appearing and catching the ball in midair.

The ball was easily destroyed with its razor-sharp teeth, and was dropped to the ground.

"D-Demon beast!" It obviously was.

Bun's exclamation was met with growling, and the wolf's eyes and the green gem on its forehead lit up for a moment. It stood to its hind legs and Fumu just knew it would attack.

"Bun, Kirby, get away!" Her warning was too late. Bun went ignored by the demon, but Kirby didn't. The fireball it shot in his direction didn't hit Kirby, but the ground directly in front of him.

Kirby was pushed back, right into the fountain behind him. Water splashed over the edges as he hit the surface, but the water wouldn't hurt quite as much as hitting the ground would have. Kirby resurfaced and coughed some water out.

"... wrath!"

Fumu was surprised that Kirby actually knew that word, but couldn't help but wonder why he used it. Considering that he looked at the wolf while he said it, it might be its name? But it was unimportant; its attention had turned to Bun now, who did his best to get away from it without being noticed.

Obviously he didn't succeed, and as soon as he realized it, sprinted in Fumu's direction. Fumu would have cursed at Bun because now she also was in the demon beast's focus, but realized that that wouldn't help.

Back on all fours now, the wolf briefly growled at them and then sprinted in their direction, far faster than either Fumu or Bun. They tried to get away, but Fumu had long since realized that it would be absolute impossible to outrun the demon.

She was sure that the wolf was about to jump at them, already imagined the pain she would feel as she was running away with Bun, but was surprised when she heard a growl from the wolf, and a shout.

"No!" Turning around, Fumu saw Kirby had jumped at the demon with an angry expression. He had smashed into its side, but was far too light to do any damage with an attack like that, and thus it was a surprise to Fumu that the wolf actually got away from Kirby, as if in pain.

She might just be imagining things, but was that steam where Kirby had hit it? No time to ponder over things like that, grabbing Kirby she hurried into the castle, Bun close behind her.

Right, down the hallway, left, left and right at the end, and Fumu was reasonably sure that they hadn't been followed. Panting heavily, she let Kirby down to the ground and leant against the wall, trying to catch her breath again.

"Is it... gone?"

Bun was panting just as hard, and Fumu couldn't help but notice the fear in his voice. It wasn't the first demon beast they had encountered, but something about this one was different. It seemed much more dangerous than all the others before it had, and Fumu was inevitably reminded of Meta Knight.

Biting her lips, she forced her thoughts away from that. Meta Knight wasn't important now, their continued surviving was the priority. Creeping along the wall, Fumu took a look around the corner and instantly pulled back. She repeated that motion, sure that they hadn't been followed now.

"Yeah, it's gone." Relief washed over her, an expression also on Bun's face, and to a lesser extent on Kirby's. "What do we do now? We can't let it roam about in the castle. What if mom or dad meet it?"

The relief on Bun's face was gone. "We can't let that happen!"

"Defeat poyo!"

Fumu hesitated. Was Kirby able to defeat it? He was strong, had proven it a few times already, but lately Meta Knight had been the one to deal with all opponents again. But was Meta Knight stronger than Kirby or was it the other way round?

Fumu inwardly cursed herself for thinking of Meta Knight again, but there was just no way around it. As much as she hated to admit it, Meta Knight was a mystery to her, a mystery she wanted to solve, and at the same time the only person smart enough to prove a challenge talking to.

His whole personality had been a challenge from the beginning, now, however, he exceeded that. 'Challenging' was no term to describe a conversation with him any longer. It went far beyond that. It had been almost impossible before, and Fumu was sure that it would now be absolutely impossible for them to talk normally to each other again.

She wasn't sure how much of what had been going on Bun or Kirby had understood, but Fumu had understood perfectly that there would be no turning back now. The Meta Knight they had first met was truly gone now, replaced by someone who had almost attacked them in rage.

She had seen the flicker in his eyes after he had destroyed the tree, had seen that he was about to attack. With his soulless red eyes he had briefly looked at them, but had still had enough control to get away before attacking them.

Fumu wasn't even sure if he would have regretted killing them.

"Yes, we have to defeat it somehow."

"But we have to find it again for that..."

A shudder ran down her spine. Unfortunately that was correct, but there was nothing they could do about that. Kirby was the only one able to defeat it, and they couldn't risk letting a demon run around and attack other people.

"Yeah... So let's go. It will still be somewhere in the castle."

Creeping around all hallways and creeping around all corners _even more_, was certainly not impressive and didn't exactly indicate confidence, but Fumu justified her behavior with the fact that Bun also did it. Kirby didn't, but she had not expected him to be as cautious as them.

Though their cautiousness didn't use them too much in the end. Fumu's heart certainly skipped a beat when she unexpectedly walked into Escargon.

He had also been creeping around the castle, though not nearly as obviously as Fumu and Bun had. He seemed just as relieved as them, when he saw whom he had walked into, though.

"Good... it's only you." Fumu really wanted to comment on how it was 'only them', but decided not to. That was really at the bottom of her list of priorities right now.

"Why are you creeping around the hallways?"

"Most likely the same reason you are doing it. Though I have to admit I'm not quite sure what exactly is running around in the castle right now." So Dedede hadn't told him? Strange.

"There's this super-scary wolf! It attacked us and shot fireballs at us!"

Escargon paled a little. "That's not good. What do we do?"

"We?" To say that Fumu was surprised, would be a huge understatement. Escargon wanted to help them?

"Kirby has to defeat it."

"Poyo!"

Kirby and Bun didn't seem suspicious at all, though was that a good thing? Escargon was Dedede's assistant and it made sense that he would be on his side. So why wasn't he?

Fumu saw Escargon look at Kirby for a moment, contemplating. "For that we have to find it first. Do have any idea where it might be?"

"No. We were searching for it when I walked into you. We'll have to search the whole castle." Escargon nodded and the four of them went on their way again, this time not creeping through the hallways as much as before.

It wasn't long before they found the next person and still not the demon beast. "Waddle Doo!"

Waddle Doo was not looking well to say the least. He looked singed, and there was no doubt in Fumu's mind that he had also met the demon beast. Only he was worse off than Kirby was and if he hadn't been hit directly, had at least been partially hit by one attack.

"You seem alright... Get away from here, there is a wolf somewhere in the castle."

"Defeat wolf... wrath." Waddle Doo understandably looked surprised at Kirby, though Fumu also did for a whole another reason. Wolf... wrath. Wolfwrath? Was that the name and Kirby had just been unable to pronounce it correctly?

"It's dangerous... Though maybe Kirby can defeat it, Meta Knight after all isn't here."

And again Fumu was reminded of him. Meta Knight would defeat it... how? With causing a bloody mess and enjoying it?

She closed her eyes briefly, taking a breath. That didn't help now. She would have to ignore it for the moment, forever if possible.

"Kirby will definitely defeat it. Though for now let's patch you up first." And distract herself from thoughts she didn't want to have.

* * *

It was almost like autopilot. There had been no conscious thoughts for direction as far as Meta Knight remembered, and still he found himself in front of his home. At least the house he had been staying in at times. He wouldn't call it a home, he would no place in the universe really call his home.

He became aware that he had been staring at the door for several minutes now, but couldn't even recall what he had thought of, except for his thoughts of the last minute or so. It was ridiculous how he was that distracted.

He entered and only found Tokkori at home. Kirby would be playing with the other kids, but that was just as well, it spared him the trouble of actually seeing him again. He wondered why he had even returned.

"Hey where- whoa! What's with that sword in your hand? And is that blood?"

Meta Knight briefly looked down and saw what Tokkori was talking about. The katana he had taken from Yamikage the day before. He was holding it in his left hand because he hadn't taken the sheath and didn't exactly know what else to do with it.

He could just leave it somewhere or destroy it, but it actually wasn't too bad an idea to have another weapon. Which was why he carried it around, and obviously made Tokkori a little nervous. He eyed the weapon with caution and made sure to be not too close to Meta Knight.

The blood was still from the fight with Yamikage; Meta Knight hadn't bothered to get rid of it, had had better things to do. It had long since dried, but he was sure that it was quite the unpleasant sight for everyone.

There was only little blood on his arms and the cuts had healed already, and that was certainly not the reason Tokkori had pointed out the blood. The wound beside his left eye hadn't completely healed yet, had leaked blood for some time to follow, even after the fight had already ended.

It was stinging a little even now although that wound also had stopped bleeding. The dried blood left an unpleasant feeling on his skin, but if he got reactions like that, he had no problem to leave it untouched for a while longer. He was sure the left side of his mask was covered in blood.

Meta Knight's mouth threatened to smirk because of Tokkori's reaction, but he didn't quite do it. The fact that Tokkori was that wary was just another sign for what Meta Knight had known all along.

"I took this katana from an enemy. I will keep it, though seeing as I did not take the sheath, I have to carry it like this for now." Tokkori visibly relaxed although Meta Knight had used an incredibly cold tone of voice, and Meta Knight couldn't help but feel at least slight amusement. He hadn't even mentioned the blood.

That wasn't all from Tokkori, however.

"So you're fightin' with two swords now? Awesome!" That was too much and Meta Knight actually smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever. Tokkori's wariness had been replaced with awe, eagerness, whatever it was called.

It only was a brief smile; it wasn't even one of much happiness, but a smile nonetheless. "Awesome, huh?" And he wasn't even quite sure why he had smiled.

"You own those demon beasts with one sword already. Imagine what happens when you use two!"

It was refreshing to have this much enthusiasm in his presence. It was wholly unexpected and for reasons others would not show any enthusiasm to at all. Unexpected but not unwelcome.

"The end result will still be the same."

"Sure, but it'll be even cooler to look at."

"Hm." Meta Knight propped the katana against the wall for lack of a better place. He would have to come back for it, but that was of no consequence. He didn't feel like walking with that katana all the time, so he had to get a sheath somewhere. The first place for that was the castle.

Meta Knight left the house again, without acknowledging Tokkori further. Tokkori, however, obviously didn't want to be left behind and followed Meta Knight out. "Where are you going?"

"To the castle."

"I'll come along."

Meta Knight briefly stopped, but saw no reason to keep Tokkori from coming with him. He continued on his way, and even without looking back he knew that Tokkori was flying behind him.

It was absolutely unnecessary to go to the castle, but for some reason Meta Knight almost felt compelled to go. He wasn't sure why, though it could be useful, Dedede was sure to have some weapons somewhere in the castle. He would find the sheath he was searching for.

For some reason, however, he felt like something was about to happen.

* * *

They had reached their home safely and without running into trouble. That in itself was a surprise, because normally nothing ever went as planned, and they had already run into two people on the way.

They had not run into any other person, and even patching up Waddle Doo had not been too much trouble. He had only sustained minor burns, nothing life-threatening, and had been quickly taken care of by Escargon.

Now they only had to decide what to do.

"It's dangerous..."

"But there is no other way!" Understandably Fumu's and Bun's parents weren't exactly happy to hear that their kids were about to search for some dangerous demon beast, but Fumu made absolutely clear that there was no other choice. If they didn't do anything, no one would.

"But Fumu..."

"Kirby has to defeat it. No one else will, and we will help him."

Fumu knew she had won, and it didn't come as a surprise for her when she, Kirby, Bun, Lololo, Lalala, Waddle Doo and Escargon were searching for the demon again only a few minutes later. She had never doubted it.

"Do we have an actual battle plan?" That, however, was a question she didn't actually want to hear from Escargon. They didn't have one.

"We just hope that Kirby is stronger." It was really all they could hope.

Walking through the castle proved to be a nerve-wracking task. All of them constantly assumed that they would be attacked when they rounded a corner, and all of them proved to be wrong. That was certainly a good thing, but didn't help to dispel fears.

When they finally found the demon beast, at least it didn't attack them in a sneak attack. In fact it had set the whole kitchen ablaze, and some Waddle Dees desperately tried to prevent the fire from spreading.

They were fighting a losing battle on their own, and when all of them entered the kitchen, it became clear to Fumu why the Waddle Dees had no chance. The demon was standing right inside the flames and spit more fire throughout the room. When it saw them, they became the new targets and Fumu and everyone else hurried to get out of the way.

"Hot!"

None of them were actually hit, but Fumu at least had felt the heat on her skin. They waited for a moment, but the wolf didn't follow them out, kept staying in the kitchen. They had to get in themselves.

"Kirby, inhale some of the flames."

Kirby did and transformed into... whatever ability it was. Fumu would guess it was Fire Kirby, but without Meta Knight she couldn't be completely sure. Not that she missed him in any way.

Now Kirby also had a green gem on his forehead and his whole head was on fire. It was rather impressive, and Fumu would be surprised if that ability _wasn't_ called Fire Kirby.

With an ability now, Kirby seemed even more confident than before. He had been the only one not afraid before, but now it was clearly palpable exactly how confident he was. When Kirby was like that, Fumu was sure that Wolfwrath or whatever its name was had no chance.

Kirby dashed into the blazing kitchen, and the next thing Fumu heard, was growling. She wasn't quite sure what the next sound was, but it didn't sound good. Her confidence hadn't lasted too long.

She had just found the resolve to enter the kitchen, when Escargon held her back. A good thing, otherwise she would have been dead.

Fumu went pale when she saw the fiery inferno coming from the kitchen. She would have died had Escargon not stopped her, but that thought was pushed to the back of her mind.

"Kirby!"

Bun, Lololo and Lalala also sprinted for the kitchen and ignored the shouts of warning from Escargon and Waddle Doo. Fumu was the first to reach the door, but stopped before entering the kitchen. The smoke was almost choking her, and her eyes began to water, making it almost impossible to see anything clearly.

"Kirby!"

She didn't get an answer, but thought she saw fire crashing. Fire was really the only thing she was able to make out clearly, and normally fire didn't crash into fire. It meant that Kirby was fighting the demon beast.

"Get away!" Fumu was roughly grabbed from behind and dragged away by Escargon, moments before the fire attacks of Kirby and the demon beast crashed into each other. What hadn't been set ablaze before had now caught fire, and there was no way the kitchen could be saved.

Already for the second time this day Escargon had saved Fumu. She had ignored it the first time, had been more worried for Kirby than for herself, but now that fact fully hit her. She could have died two times in the span of not even two minutes. She had never trusted Escargon, but he had saved her life.

Another explosion rocked the whole hallway they were in, but Fumu barely noticed. Meta Knight had threatened to kill her, but it had never seemed real. She had been sure he wouldn't go through with it, even if he had said otherwise.

Now she had almost died, and for the first time she had really felt the threat of death.

"We have to help him!"

"You can't!"

"Why not? Kirby needs help!"

"You would die!"

An argument had ensued, but Fumu wasn't sure which side to take. She knew they were unable to help Kirby, at the same time she wanted to try at least.

"I will help him."

All eyes turned to Waddle Doo in surprise at his comment. He had drawn his sword and was already on his way to the flaming inferno that was the kitchen before anyone could even think about stopping him. Before he could enter, however, another crash sounded and both Kirby and the demon had left to continue their fight in the hallways.

Neither of them had suffered any serious damage as far as Fumu could tell, but it also meant that neither of them had gained the upper hand. Though maybe now Kirby would, as Waddle Doo charged the demon beast from behind.

He hacked at the wolf with his sword, and it wasn't quite fast enough to get away in time. Fumu wasn't sure if there was blood where Waddle Doo had cut it, and she wasn't able to take a closer look before it jumped away over Kirby's head.

It had made sure to see both Kirby and Waddle Doo, but that didn't use it much. It had barely had a second of time to look in their direction, when it was engulfed by a sea of flames from Kirby.

"Nice going, Kirby!"

There were several voices cheering for Kirby, and Fumu also felt relieved, sure that that demon wouldn't survive something like that. Her state of being relieved was short-lived.

The growl from within the fire was all the warning Kirby and Waddle Doo had before they were attacked. A fireball came in their direction, smashing into the ground a short distance in front of them.

Inside the fire Fumu saw the silhouette of the wolf, its eyes glowing with malice at them. Fumu took a step back in fear. It had to be directly from hell, no other demon beast had ever been that scary. She felt almost paralyzed.

Kirby and Waddle Doo, however, were not and bravely attacked again. They were supported by the Waddle Dees appearing on the other side of the demon beast, and it was surrounded on all sides now, with walls to its left and right.

That didn't stop it.

After eyeing Kirby and Waddle Doo for a moment, still inside the fire, it suddenly turned around, and a fireball crashed into the Waddle Dees. The demon sprinted at them, and a terrible crunching sound could be heard only a few moments later.

Fumu was glad for the fire in the middle of the hallway that still partially blocked their view, because she could imagine what had happened. At least one of the Waddle Dees had died right now.

"We have to chase it!"

"Wait, we can't get through the fire."

Escargon was the voice of reason and stopped Bun from doing something incredibly stupid like trying to jump over it. His words didn't stop Kirby and, after some hesitation, Waddle Doo, though. They jumped right through and disappeared from view.

"We can't just leave them to do this alone!" Fumu saw that Bun was about to follow anyway, and saw the need to interfere.

"We won't, but we can't take the same way."

They ended up taking a detour through some extra hallways and didn't even find Kirby and Waddle Doo right away. They met several Waddle Dees, most of them with bloody gashes on their bodies, some without any injuries and some dead.

It was clear from the injuries how the Waddle Dees had died. Some had suffered terrible burn wounds and the smell of burned flesh was in the air, almost making Fumu gag. The others were worse, however.

They had been ripped apart, there was no other way to describe it. Chunks of their flesh were missing, they were lying in pools of blood, and Fumu had to avert her eyes from the scene, feeling sick.

She bit her lip. The wolf was able to do that even while it was fighting two opponents? Her earlier confidence had been completely replaced by worry.

They became faster, leaving the horrid scene behind, hurried through the hallways, noticed all the scratches on the walls and the blood stains. Fumu hoped it was the wolf's blood, but there were several more Waddle Dees in the hallways and most of them were injured. It would be their blood; it didn't matter as long as it wasn't Kirby's.

Running through another hallway, they reached the courtyard where they had first met the demon beast again. It didn't look much like it had before.

The fountain had been smashed into pieces, pieces of debris scattered all over the ground. There also were some craters were attacks had obviously hit, and some grass was burning, filling the air with smoke.

The combatants were nowhere to be seen, but an explosion inside the castle told their position. Their whole group ran in direction of the explosion and came just in time to see Kirby smash into one of the castle's walls.

"Kirby!"

Their shout distracted the demon for merely a second, but it was enough for Waddle Doo to score a hit. He had already been in the process of attacking, and although the wolf turned back to him with almost unbelievable speed, it wasn't fast enough.

His sword would never have reached the demon in time, but his beam did. The demon beast flinched back and staggered into a wall, it didn't seem hurt, however. It was angry and nothing else, and the electricity coursing through the spikes on its back seemed dangerous.

Its eyes and the gem on its forehead lit up, and with a snarl it sprang at Waddle Doo, teeth bared. Waddle Doo cried out in surprise, not expecting his attack to show this little effect. He showed no other reaction other than his cry and his eye widening in terror, and the sharp teeth dug into his right arm.

"Arg!"

This time he cried out in pain, and with him everyone else in shock. Fumu saw blood splashing to the floor from the bite wound, the teeth deeply digging into Waddle Doo's flesh.

In desperation Waddle Doo tried again with a beam from his eye, but the demon only grunted in discomfort and anger, not pain. It thrashed its head around, making Waddle Doo cry out in pain again, and Fumu and everyone else watched helplessly as Wolfwrath let go and threw him through the hallway.

Blood rained down to the floor from Waddle Doo's arm as he was thrown through the air, and with a thud he impacted with the far wall of the hallway and didn't get back up, laying absolutely motionless.

That left only Kirby to fight the demon, and Fumu couldn't shake the feeling of dread. They had lost Waddle Doo already, couldn't even help him because their opponent was in the way, and the wolf didn't seem tired or exhausted at all. Of course she hadn't seen the whole battle, but the demon beast had not taken _any_ damage as far as she could tell.

"Kirby, be careful..."

Kirby had been standing beside Escargon after he had gotten up again. Now his eyes shone with determination and he nodded at them, facing Wolfwrath again.

With a battle cry he charged at the wolf, an opponent that had just defeated Waddle Doo without problems.

Kirby wasn't quite as reckless as Fumu had feared, though. Long before he was in reach of the wolf's sharp teeth or claws, Kirby stopped and breathed fire at it. Fumu had expected it to counter the attack or dodge, but it did neither.

It just stood there and let itself be hit without caring.

That was when Fumu realized that fighting fire with fire would be no use. It had set the kitchen ablaze and still it had stayed inside. Fire didn't hurt it, and it would make no difference if Kirby tried like that any longer.

Kirby also seemed to have noticed that, for he stopped his attack and took a few steps back.

The demon beast stepped out of the fire, and Fumu felt like it was grinning at them. It slowly came closer, the flames behind it making it look all the more menacing.

Fumu wasn't the only one to take a few steps back, but Kirby stood his ground. He only moved away when the demon jumped at him, its teeth still glistering with Waddle Doo's blood and ready to sink into Kirby next.

Kirby jumped back and his opponent only hit the ground, but that didn't seem to bother it much. The fire rising in its throat was shot at Kirby as a huge fireball. There was just enough space in the hallway for Kirby to escape the attack with jumping away, it raced directly for their group at the end of the hallway, though.

Fumu's reaction time was far too slow to escape the blast as the fireball crashed into the wall right at the corner where they had been standing. The searing heat washed over her although she hadn't been hit directly, and the explosion smashed her into a wall.

She was unconscious long before she hit the ground.

* * *

**A/N:** I couldn't _not_ use Wolfwrath as the name. Seriously, Chilidog sounds stupid.


	18. Inferno

**18. Inferno**

_"What business do you have with me?" _

_"You'll find out if you don't pay the toll!" _

_Meta Knight didn't have time for that now. He was being chased and those two idiots only wasted precious time. _

_They were clearly bandits, wore a mixture of armor and simple clothes. The bigger one wore the darker green armor, his face covered by a helmet and his shoulders covered with pauldrons. The rest were simple brown cloths, though the mace in his right hand at least looked threateningly. _

_The shorter one wore a green helmet and no further armor, but just brown clothes. He had spikes on his gloves and shoes, though Meta Knight wasn't impressed. He brandished an axe in front of his face._

_"We will have to take your life!"_

_Meta Knight would have snorted, had it not been for the fact that he was pissed at them. He could understand that they needed to find a way to stay alive, any way, but it didn't change the fact that they endangered him and themselves right now._

_"Get out of the way if you don't want to die." _

_"Who would kill us, you?" _

_"We are two people and you are alone!"_

_They couldn't see Meta Knight's scowl, but it was there. "This is my last warning, get out of the way, or suffer the consequences." _

_They hesitated and Meta Knight was sure they would back down. Before they could, however, the one chasing Meta Knight appeared on the cliff above them. _

_Wolfwrath jumped down, but not at Meta Knight. It jumped at the two bandits, both barely getting out of the way. Wolfwrath instantly focused its attention on the shorter one._

_"Get away!" He waved his axe about in front of his face, but all it did was aggravate the wolf more. The other seemed frozen and didn't react in any way for a few seconds, then he attacked with a cry. Idiot._

_"Blade!" He raised his mace above his head and brought it down, but Wolfwrath easily dodged. The guy stumbled and fell to his face, right beside the other one, both of them at Wolfwrath's mercy._

_The wolf made ready to spit a fireball at them, but Meta Knight intervened. A Sword Beam collided with the fireball just as Wolfwrath was about to launch it at the two downed figures, and both attacks exploded in its face._

_The force of the hit sent it reeling back and to the ground, writhing in pain. It was certainly able to take fire, even needed it and became stronger with it, but an added Sword Beam was too much for it to take._

_"Run away!" The two bandits promptly complied, though Meta Knight didn't care much for that fact. He jumped at Wolfwrath, at the same time slashing with Galaxia, but his strike was blocked._

_His opponent had gotten up surprisingly fast and had blocked with its claws, but Meta Knight wasn't fazed, had expected it in fact. Meta Knight, still in the air from his jump, kicked the wolf in the face and it fell back again, at the same time clawing at Meta Knight, though._

_He managed to block and land rather gracefully on the ground compared to his opponent, but Wolfwrath was already standing again. It growled at him and attacked with a fireball, which Meta Knight dodged. _

_He also dodged a frontal attack of the wolf trying to ram into him, and grabbed a fistful of its fur, trying to hold on. In the end he was dragged along for what felt like hours, although it had only been a few seconds. _

_Wolfwrath wildly ran around and tried to get rid of Meta Knight, but only managed to get rid of him after it dragged both of them into the abyss. They both fell down the cliff because of Wolfwrath, and although Meta Knight let go, he was unable to get away._

_Both of them hit the side of the cliff several times on their way down, before both of them landed in a pond._

* * *

He told himself that he didn't care and that it wouldn't matter. It wasn't why he was in the castle, and it wasn't his place to interfere with whatever was going on, or even care for what was going on.

Tokkori looked around nervously when an explosion sounded in the distance, but Meta Knight didn't care. It was Dedede's problem if one thing or another destroyed his castle.

"Aren't you going to check what's going on?"

"No." Meta Knight didn't even bother to stop or turn in Tokkori's direction. His tone of voice was disinterested, cold even, as was his gaze, focusing only on the way in front of him as there was just nothing else to focus on.

The dull, gray hallways were deserted, there weren't even any Waddle Dees to be seen. Meta Knight's steps echoed in the silence and he heard Tokkori's wings flapping, along with an occasional crash, or more likely explosion somewhere in the distance.

It wasn't of any concern to him, he had his own agenda and wouldn't bother with anything else right now. He simply didn't care any longer.

"Where exactly are you going anyway?"

Meta Knight was still surprised that he didn't feel quite as annoyed with Tokkori's questions as he usually did with others. It was rather strange, but he also wouldn't bother with it. He didn't mind the questions and he had no problems with answering them thus far.

"I am going to the dungeons."

Tokkori stayed silent after that, had obviously run out of questions. Meta Knight couldn't say that he cared much, the complete silence was more welcome than it was a bother.

They continued to walk or in Tokkori's case to fly in silence, hearing the occasional crash in the distance, until they reached their destination.

The air in the dungeons was a little cooler than it was in the hallways, but it didn't bother Meta Knight. He knew what he was searching for, and the temperature wouldn't stop him even if it was freezing.

He had only ever been in the dungeons once, but he remembered the layout well enough. What he knew to be the armory was soon found, and Meta Knight entered with Tokkori close behind. Why the armory was in the dungeons was a mystery to him.

"Whoa."

Tokkori seemed decidedly impressed, when Meta Knight himself wasn't even remotely impressed. It was just a room with mostly spears for the countless Waddle Dees in the castle and some other weapons.

'Some other weapons' consisted of mostly normal swords, some bows and arrows, maces and other things Meta Knight wasn't interested in. Dedede also had exactly two katanas, and one would be losing its sheath right now.

Looking them over briefly, Meta Knight soon decided for the black one and got rid of the katana. It wasn't about owning a katana, but rather about owning Yamikage's.

Turning around, he saw Tokkori giving him a perplexed look. Of course he hadn't explained what exactly he was doing, and it was no real surprise to see that Tokkori hadn't caught on. It didn't matter if Tokkori knew or not, though.

"What-?" This time Meta Knight didn't bother to answer the question and just brushed past him. He had what he had come for, and he wouldn't let himself be dragged into whatever else was going on right now.

As soon as he left the dungeons it became warmer again, and he also heard some crashes in the distance again. The sound had been inaudible in the dungeons, but now it was quite obvious and not exactly easy to ignore, especially considering that the sound came from the direction Meta Knight was walking to right now.

Tokkori beside him seemed decidedly nervous by now, but that was to be expected with the sound coupled with the rising smoke. Normally Meta Knight would have investigated, but he was beyond the point of caring for anything concerning Dreamland now. He was about to leave all of this behind, and interfering with things would just delay him further.

"And you are sure you're not going to look what's goin' on?"

Meta Knight stopped briefly, gave Tokkori a blank look. "Yes, I am quite sure." And that was the end of that. If Tokkori asked that question again Meta Knight would ignore it.

They resumed their walk in silence and reached the gates without any further interruption. Meta Knight saw some Waddle Dees hurrying in direction of the explosions and the smoke, but just ignored them.

He stepped out of the castle and into the light outside, stopped after a few steps, though.

It was just a normal day, nothing remarkable about it, and yet...

Meta Knight continued on his way, banished all unnecessary thoughts. What did it matter if the sun shone or if it rained? Nothing of it mattered for he would be gone and would not return.

It was the end.

* * *

Groaning Escargon got up after he had been thrown to the ground. He had been lucky to only be caught in the blast and not the fireball itself. He had also been lucky that he had not been smashed into one of the walls.

"Escargon!" Looking up, he saw both Lololo and Lalala floating in front of him with worried expressions. They seemed alright and completely unharmed at least.

Looking around the hallway, he saw that they were the only ones. Both Fumu and Bun lay motionless on the ground, neither awake.

"Oh damn!" Escargon hurried over to them, trying not to wince at the pain he felt from his own fall, and checked their pulse. There was a steady pulse in both cases and he breathed a sigh of relief. They were only unconscious, had most likely both smashed into a wall, and would hopefully wake up soon.

"They seem to be alright, except for the fact that they both are unconscious." He could certainly have phrased that better, but it got the point across. Lololo and Lalala were visibly relieved and came closer.

"When are they going to wake up?"

"I can't tell for certain, but soon I hope." He couldn't do much more than hope anyway.

There was silence for some time, undisturbed by any of them. Only then did Escargon notice that there should not be silence.

"What about Kirby?" Lololo and Lalala also hadn't noticed and looked just as unsure as Escargon what to do.

"I can't hear anything... Can you?"

"No..."

That was not good. If Kirby and the demon beast were gone it meant that they were fighting somewhere else now, and they wouldn't be able to help him. Taking a peek around the corner, Escargon saw his fear confirmed. Kirby and the wolf were gone, leaving only fire and damage to the walls behind.

No, not quite. They had also left _someone_ behind, and Escargon could have kicked himself for forgetting. "Keep an eye on them." And before Lololo or Lalala could object, he had already left them behind.

He walked at a relatively slow pace through the hallway, sidestepping the fire still burning in some places, and also sidestepping the blood on the floor. Then he reached the fallen form of Waddle Doo.

"Waddle Doo?"

There was no reaction.

He was lying in his own blood, the deep wounds on his right arm steadily enlarging the pool of blood on the ground. Escargon had not expected a reaction after he saw it, but still some reaction would have been good, any reaction.

At least he was still alive, Escargon had checked. There was a heartbeat, even if it was slightly irregular and weaker than it should have been. The fact that he was alive had to be enough for the moment.

* * *

It was utter foolishness and quite annoying in a way.

Someone had dared stand up to his forces, and his plans had been delayed for a moment. Resistance was not what his demon beasts had expected, and thus had sustained some losses, and even if it didn't matter too much in the end for everyone had been crushed, the fact that someone had opposed him was a fact for consideration.

Why did people choose to oppose him? For freedom? What a ridiculous notion.

People were always bound by someone or something and it wouldn't matter to them who ruled, a new ruler might be better suited for the position after all.

And Nightmare had every intention of being better. As lone ruler of the whole universe he would be better than anyone before him anyway, as no one had ever conquered everything.

But he hadn't quite reached his goal yet. This one particular case of resistance had shown it, he still wasn't at the end. There would always be resistance, rebels who opposed the rightful ruler and foolishly believed they could do it better.

He would wipe them out, every last one of them.

But all in good time.

For now he was content with just watching. Interfering himself would leave the people resisting no chance at all, and that would be boring. Even against his demon beasts they had little to no chance, but he could at least give them the illusion of having a chance.

"Master."

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of one of his lowly demon beasts. Pathetic little thing, covering in fear before its master.

"What is it?"

It wouldn't be too important, if something important had happened, he would already have known. He didn't even acknowledge the presence of the demon beast with turning in its direction, there was no point in doing so.

"Customer Service said you might be interested in this development, master."

"Is that so?" Now he was at least mildly curious, though of course he didn't openly show it. He heard the demon beast shift nervously behind him, and finally turned in its direction, his expression giving nothing away.

The demon beast, a small one looking like a bird, nodded frantically. "Yes. There is a new employee you might be interested in."

Nightmare would have huffed had it not been completely unbefitting of him. New employees were not interesting in the least and he didn't particularly care who exactly worked for him. The only thing that kept his attention was the fact that Customer Service had been the one to send the demon beast to him. The last time Customer Service had suggested an... _employee_ had been interesting to a degree at least, even if Nightmare didn't expect anything great from him. Maybe he wouldn't be quite as useless as before.

"What is that employee's name?" Maybe that would get him somewhere and make it clear why Customer Service deemed it necessary to inform him of something trivial as something like that.

"The name is Knuckle Joe."

* * *

He had managed to lead Wolfwrath away from the others, but it only meant that Kirby was now the only one it could focus its attacks on. That was good as it meant the others weren't in danger any more, but there would also be no further distractions. And Kirby could need one right now.

Kirby had learned that Wolfwrath was immune to his fire attacks the painful way. Not necessarily his pain, but he wasn't ignorant of the fact that Waddle Doo, Fumu and Bun had all been hurt because he had been unable to defeat the wolf.

He was no closer to defeating it with his fire ability because it just didn't work, but so far he hadn't come across anything useful that would grant him an ability. Thus it was mostly running away and trying to not get hit, though that last part was far harder than it sounded because the demon beast was fast.

The fire Kirby had dodged easily enough, but when the demon had switched to using its claws and teeth to try and hit Kirby, it had become incredibly hard to keep out of harm's way. Though seeing as Wolfwrath had also been unable to hit him like that, it seemed to become incredibly frustrated.

After a few times it had reverted back to spitting fireballs again, and now consequently bombarded the whole hallway. Smoke rose and obscured Kirby's view, and great chunks were torn out of the walls, acting as weapons for Wolfwrath now.

After dropping his copy ability Kirby had briefly thought of inhaling bits of the wall, but had realized it wouldn't do him much good. The debris would have granted him the stone ability, an ability that wouldn't be of much use when Wolfwrath had proven time and time again that stone wasn't a problem for it.

Wolfwrath had even stopped aiming its attacks by now and randomly fired in Kirby's direction, spreading damage to all parts of the hallway. He still wasn't hit directly, but the debris raining down on him were at least mildly to quite painful, all depending on size.

One of the bigger pieces hit him from the left side and Kirby slightly turned his head upon impact. What he saw made him think that maybe there was a way to acquire a useful ability after all. The sparks from one of Dedede's destroyed cameras had to do.

Inhaling and turning into Spark Kirby came not a second too soon. The electric shield Kirby created around himself took care of everything flying at him, and Wolfwrath growled in anger.

With new confidence Kirby attacked, one of his electrical attacks slamming into one of Wolfwrath's fire attacks and bathing everything in a shower of sparks and fire, before their attacks exploded and blinded Kirby for a moment.

It only stopped him momentarily.

The smoke hadn't even cleared away as Kirby sent the next attack, aiming for the general direction he knew his opponent to be at. When the smoke had cleared away he saw Wolfwrath still standing, on its hind legs now and fur bristling in anger. It seemed almost stunned for a moment.

Kirby saw electricity running through the six spikes on its back, then its eyes lit up and with a roar it spit yet another fireball. Seeing it come at him, Kirby still didn't try to dodge. He created another shield of electricity all around himself; let the attack crash into his shield.

It did him more harm than dodging would have.

It crashed into his shield with an explosion, and while Kirby had expected that, he had not expected the pain he felt. The explosion was strong enough to push him into a wall, and his eyes involuntary closed for a few seconds after the impact.

"Ow..."

When he opened them again, Wolfwrath was right in front of him, claws poised to attack.

* * *

"What's that thing doin'? My whole castle is gonna be destroyed!"

Dedede had watched Wolfwrath fight via use of the various cameras inside the castle, and it was incredibly frustrating to see the flames consuming whatever was in their way. The kitchen had been lost, and Dedede was also quite sure that some Waddle Dees had not survived the demon's attack.

It also wasn't fighting Meta Knight but Kirby and Waddle Doo. That was something that angered Dedede quite a bit, seeing as Waddle Doo was not supposed to fight it and Kirby wasn't the target. It didn't help that even Escargon seemed to be involved.

"Hoho, that's a small price to pay if Wolfwrath gets the job done."

And then there was Customer Service. He was grating on Dedede's nerves just with being present. Dedede had never noticed just how annoying Customer Service really was, but now that he had dropped part of the pleasant facade, it was much worse.

"But it doesn't get its job done! Meta Knight isn't even here!" Which was the whole point. Maybe Waddle Doo had died, Dedede couldn't be sure as the camera showing it had been destroyed, but that was more of a bad thing than a good thing. Meta Knight was the target and it was stupid to let the wolf rampage through his castle if Meta Knight wasn't even there.

"All in good time. Meta Knight will be next, after Wolfwrath has defeated everyone else." Dedede grit his teeth in anger; it was his castle that was being destroyed, his Waddle Dees that had been killed and his cameras that kept getting destroyed.

The last one had been destroyed just now after another attack from Wolfwrath and Dedede just wouldn't take it any longer. If he didn't do something soon, there would be nothing of his castle left.

"Drive that demon beast out!"

The two Waddle Dees at the door hurried away, most likely relaying orders, and all Dedede could do now was wait. Looking at the monitor he saw no trace of the demon beast on any of the cameras still intact, and frowned darkly at that.

"That was an unwise decision, after all Kirby is almost defeated." Dedede's frown turned to Customer Service then.

"I don't care for Kirby! I care for the fact that my castle is burning down!" Customer Service had the impudence to chuckle.

"That's a good thing. The more it burns, the stronger Wolfwrath becomes."

Dedede still didn't think it was a good thing. Getting stronger? Yeah, good thing. Destroying everything in the process? Certainly not good.

"I will make sure that it leaves the castle. It can burn as many things as it wants - outside." As long as Meta Knight was burned Dedede didn't care one way or another what it did outside of the castle.

* * *

Kirby's view of life was realistic enough for him to know that it would hurt. If he survived being pierced right in the face with those claws that meant, and chances for that likely weren't too high.

He saw triumph in Wolfwrath's eyes right before it was about to kill him, saw some blood dripping from its fangs and claws, but would be unable to defend himself in time. He had lost his copy ability upon impact with the wall, but doubted he would have been able to defend himself with his spark ability even.

He closed his eyes again, bracing for the claws to pierce through his flesh and kill him in the process, but only felt something wet on his skin and heard a growl from Wolfwrath.

Opening his eyes again, Kirby saw Wolfwrath had taken a few steps away from him and growled in obvious displeasure, maybe even pain. The wet something he had felt and still felt on his skin was just water coming from the sprinkler system overhead, but Wolfwrath acted as if burned by it.

Maybe that wasn't even as unlikely as it sounded. Steam rose from Wolfwrath's body, everywhere the water hit it, and with a howl, this time obviously in pain, it sprinted away from Kirby and the water from the sprinkler system.

Kirby breathed a sigh of relief and slowly and painfully got up. That last attack hurt more than he had first assumed it would, but he was glad for that pain even. He was sure he was still alive like that.

He slowly trudged through the hallways in direction of Fumu's and Bun's home, hoping to find the others there, unharmed. Kirby had no idea how long exactly it took him to reach his destination, but it felt almost like forever to him.

On the way he came across one of the hallways he had fought Wolfwrath in, and for the first time he really saw the extent of the damage that had been done. There were claw marks on the walls, and soot from where either Kirby or his opponent had hit the wall with their fire attacks.

The sprinkler system was still spraying water and at least there were no fires left, only smoke rising from the places were a fire once had burned. The water also washed the blood away, but Kirby's stomach churned as he saw the Waddle Dees Wolfwrath had killed.

Some were burned beyond recognition, others had been torn apart by the claws or the teeth of the demon. Their blood had dried after their death, but now the water was washing it away and left puddles of bloody water everywhere on the floor.

Kirby took the longer way around that hallway, and when he finally reached the Cabinet Minister's home, the sprinkler system had stopped spraying water down on him, had actually never been active in this part of the castle.

He knocked at the door.

* * *

The first thing Fumu noticed when she awakened was the fact that her head hurt. She wasn't sure why, couldn't quite recall what had happened to her, but it hurt. She tried to sit up slowly, and after she had sat up, looked around.

She was in her own room, she noticed, but had no idea how she had gotten there. Trying to remember anything, the first thing she did remember made her gasp.

"Kirby!"

She got up as fast as possible, completely ignoring her headache. She crossed her room with a short sprint and stormed into the living room, but stopped in surprise. Her parents looked worriedly at each other and hadn't noticed her yet; Lololo and Lalala also had worried expressions on their faces. Escargon was also in their living room, his expression hidden for Fumu because he leaned over the sofa, though.

"Mom? Dad?" Startled everyone but Escargon looked at Fumu, and she got the feeling that something was really wrong.

"Oh Fumu, you are awake! Are you alright?" Her mother rushed forward and hugged her, taking the chance for Fumu to answer away. She squirmed a little and answered when her mother finally let go.

"I'm fine..." Obviously a lie. "What happened?" She looked from one to the other, all of them again with looks of worry on their faces. They hesitated, and finally Lalala was the one to answer.

"After... well, after we were attacked by Wolfwrath, Bun and you were knocked out and lost consciousness." Fumu nodded, well aware that she had lost consciousness, but a little surprised Bun had as well. Lololo continued.

"You were not in any real danger of dying, but Waddle Doo..."

Waddle Doo. Fumu had forgotten about him in her worry for Kirby, and that although she had clearly seen what had happened to him. She paled, remembering what exactly the demon beast had done to him.

"Is he...?"

"He's alive..."

That wasn't reassuring her in any way, and hesitantly she walked around the sofa, almost afraid to even take a look. It wasn't quite as bad as she had imagined, not even nearly as bad, but that was only because there was no visible blood.

Escargon sighed and Fumu wasn't quite sure why he did it, if it was relief or frustration. Maybe a little of both because while Waddle Doo didn't look too good with the bandages and patches covering his right side, he at least didn't look like he would just die. With this opinion Fumu could be wrong of course, though.

A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts, and she saw that she wasn't the only one to reflexively look in that direction. A tense silence followed where neither of them made any motion to approach the door.

Another knock and Fumu finally found the courage to approach the door. "Fumu-" But she had already opened the door, reasoning that it certainly wouldn't be the demon beast. Of course she was correct.

"Kirby!"

Fumu rushed to him, looking him up and down and to her immense relief noticed that he didn't seem to be hurt. Not nearly to the extent Waddle Doo was at least. Kirby only seemed really tired and genuinely upset, and Fumu's happy expression at seeing him cracked a little. The demon beast was still alive. Kirby's next words made it clear.

"Got away."

She couldn't tell if he meant that he had gotten away or that the demon beast had gotten away, but it was absolutely clear to her that they all were still in danger. The wolf was still roaming around somewhere.

But it didn't matter now. All of them had survived the first encounter, and only Waddle Doo had suffered some serious injuries. The others were mostly alright and that headache she still had was nothing to be concerned about. The main thing was that no one had died.

"Come in Kirby, let Escargon have a look at you."

She let him pass and the other four people beside Escargon all showed their relief at seeing Kirby alive and well, and delayed him from reaching Escargon with questions if he was really alright. Kirby nodded at all of them and let Escargon check him without complaint after that.

Assured that Kirby was... maybe not completely alright, but at least not critically injured, Fumu's thoughts turned to other things. It was made harder by the fact that she still had a headache, but it was important and the headache was the last of her worries.

If Kirby had not defeated the demon beast it was still alive and wrecking havoc somewhere. The demon being in the castle was bad enough as it endangered all people inside, but Fumu shuddered to think what would happen if Wolfwrath appeared in the village. None of the villagers would stand a chance.

But what could be done? She didn't know where exactly the demon was, and even if she did she herself could do nothing. Even Kirby had failed and he didn't look like he would be able to face the wolf again right now.

That left only one person.

Fumu didn't know where he was, personally thought that she was better of not knowing, but there was just no one else capable of defeating the demon beast. If it had left the castle there was also no one else close enough even, provided of course that Meta Knight was in the village, something that she very much doubted when she thought of the last thing she had seen Meta Knight do.

Still he would likely be closer than Kirby was, and also better suited to fighting that particular demon beast. Kirby's copy ability had shown little to no effect, but a sword was something different.

Unfortunately Fumu doubted that Meta Knight had solved his issues and feared he was still as angry as he had been after Yamikage had escaped him. In a state like that he would gladly kill a demon beast, but it was also unlikely that he was directly in the village.

She had no way of knowing, and she could only hope that the demon beast either wasn't headed for the village or that Meta Knight would took care of it, preferably both.

"Fumu?"

Fumu blinked, realizing that she had totally blanked out for at least a few seconds. Her parents had directed their worried looks at her now, and Fumu felt a little guilty for making them worry when she was perfectly alright.

"I'm fine." Better than the others at least.

* * *

It was, Curio decided, just one of the normal days. It was sunny, he talked to some of the other Cappies; just like any other day. Surprisingly, though, the weather didn't stay perfect, or at least that was what Curio first thought.

The black clouds he saw made him think that it was going to rain first, it wouldn't surprise him, because after all there had been more rain than normal in the last few days; then he saw it wasn't clouds. There was black smoke rising from the village, and with horror Curio realized that there was a fire.

He didn't even think once about the fact that it might be dangerous to run to where the fire was, and that whatever had caused it might be dangerous as well.

When Curio arrived in the middle of the village, he saw that several houses had caught fire, and that it was rapidly spreading. There was panic among the villagers, but several others had started to try and extinguish the flames trying to consume their homes.

Buckets full of water were passed around, everyone desperately trying to get the fire under control, but failing to do so because the flames just spread faster and faster.

"Help!"

Cries of help rang through the air, but there was no way Curio or the others could help everyone. Even with their combined effort they were unable to stop the flames, or even slow them down.

The smoke was choking Curio by now, making him cough and making him realize that their efforts were in vain. The fire was getting bigger and not smaller.

"What's... what's causing this?"

He had expected some sort of answer, but from one of the other Cappies and not in form of a terrifying growl.

There was a demon in the village, there was no other way to describe it. It was coming out of the flames totally unaffected, even seemed to be burning itself.

Curio took a step back in fear, absolutely terrified even. _This_ was what had caused the fire?

Other people also became aware of the wolf, none of them reacting with less fear. Some hadn't noticed and were still trying to put out the fires, but all who had noticed seemed frozen in fear.

The wolf took a few steps in their direction. Curio had the feeling it was grinning madly at them all, and took a few steps back himself, barely noticing that most others did as well.

"D-demon beast!"

Then all hell broke lose, everyone trying to get away from the wolf who had caused the fiery inferno. Curio didn't even turn around to see if it chased them.

* * *

Fumu felt guilty about what she had done, and not only because running made her headache worse. When everyone's attention had been on Waddle Doo, she had left the living room with Kirby, searching for the demon beast.

It wasn't in the castle, of that much she was sure. There was no smoke that would indicate where it was anymore, and it only left the possibility that it had left. That was good in a way, but it also made Fumu realize how much danger there now was to everyone else in the village.

And danger there was.

Fumu froze in horror and Kirby right beside her stiffened when they reached a point from where they could see the whole village. She had seen the ominous black smoke rising, but had hoped against hope that it wasn't the demon beast but just a normal fire.

It had been the demon beast, there was no doubting that. Almost the whole village had been set ablaze; a sea of flames, an inferno trying to devour anything and everything. Fumu could hear the fearful screams of the villagers although they were looking down at the village from a higher position and were quite some distance away. She thought she could even feel the heat on her skin.

"Help, poyo!"

Kirby's insistent tugging at her arm brought Fumu out of her glum thoughts and she focused on more important things. Kirby was right, they had to help extinguish the fire and defeat the demon beast, no one else would be able to help.

Fumu followed Kirby down the hill the castle was atop, but soon noticed he wasn't even running directly to the village.

"Kirby, where are you going?"

"Meta!"

Her insides froze as she heard that name. Even as a last resort Fumu would have preferred to _ask_ someone else for help, like Dedede or even _Nightmare_. Just not Meta Knight.

But when Kirby needed to ask for help there was no way around it. He was strong and wouldn't call for help if he didn't really need it.

The run to their home took agonizingly long three minutes, three minutes they could have spent running to the village and help everyone. Fumu refused to believe that there was absolutely no way without asking Meta Knight for help, but was unable to come up with anything resembling a plan.

Kirby stormed into the house, and Fumu followed after a moment, almost hoping Meta Knight was still gone.

"Meta!"

"What is it?"

His voice sent chills down Fumu's back. In just one day his normal tone of voice, which had admittedly always been somewhat cold, had lost every last bit of warmth. It was also devoid of any other emotion than slight boredom.

He had his back turned to them, and although Fumu knew the mask covered his face completely and made it impossible to read his expression, she wished for him to turn around so she could at least see his eyes.

"Demon- fire!" Kirby was unable to get it out in a whole sentence, but Meta Knight was smart enough to understand him anyway. Still, he showed no indication of even hearing what Kirby had said, and continued to look presumably out of the window.

"Oi Meta Knight, if there's a demon don't you wanna defeat it with-"

"That's enough."

Tokkori instantly shut up, looking slightly apprehensive and making Fumu wonder if he had also realized something. Meta Knight didn't even have to speak up.

He turned around for the first time since they had entered, and for the first time Fumu could see his eyes. They were not red like she had feared, expected even, but their usual golden. That did nothing to make his look any less intimidating when it turned to her after observing Kirby for a moment, however.

But the color of his eyes or his intimidating look were not the reason why Fumu took a step back. His mask was covered in blood, and Fumu's first thought was that he had killed someone. Then she remembered the fight with Yamikage.

Meta Knight had taken the attack intended to kill her. He had jumped in the way and had been hit himself. Only the left side of his mask was covered in blood, running down from the visor and looking like he had cried tears of blood, and Fumu was sure it was his own blood. He had taken the hit on purpose...

She felt like Meta Knight's piercing gaze looked directly into her soul, and she shuddered. He had never looked _that_ intently at her before, and she got the feeling he knew exactly what she had just thought.

"So there is a demon beast." It wasn't even a question.

"Gotta help!" Kirby nodded his head furiously, ignored the blood, and made insisting gestures in Meta Knight's direction, trying to get him to follow. He didn't budge.

"No." Kirby stopped his gestures, dumbstruck, and Fumu felt much the same way.

"What?"

Meta Knight's gaze shifted to Fumu again. "I will not help you."

"But- but you-" Fumu was left speechless, horrified even. As much as she hated to admit it, Meta Knight had been the last resort, but he had also been the last hope. She didn't know what exactly had happened to Kirby, but he had obviously lost, and from what she had seen had never had too much of a chance. She had denied it earlier, but she knew it was the truth.

Kirby's expression wasn't as horrified as Fumu's; as if he had known it. He looked remarkably calm even at this turn of events, and hurriedly left after a few seconds of staring at Meta Knight. "Kirby!"

She made to follow, but stopped halfway to the door. "Why?"

Meta Knight made no indication of caring in the least, just stared at her. Fumu took a breath, but it didn't help at all.

"Answer me, Meta Knight! Why do you refuse to help us?"

"It is the end, Fumu." Fumu didn't comprehend his words, didn't know what he meant. "I will leave and I will not return. It is no longer my problem if there is a demon beast rampaging through the village."

His words were like a blow to the stomach. He had known that there was a demon beast in the village. Neither Kirby nor Fumu had told him where the demon beast was, but he had known anyway.

"You-" Fumu couldn't hold back tears after that, tears of anger and frustration. "So you don't care if people die?" He just stared back, emotionless.

"You don't care if the village is burned down, if that demon kills them all? I misjudged you, Meta Knight, I totally misjudged you! I didn't think you were completely evil, but I see I was wrong!

After it is done with the village, I hope Wolfwrath attacks you next, I hate you!"

Fumu ran after Kirby and in direction of the village without looking back, tears streaming down her face. She preferred the inferno to Meta Knight's company.

* * *

**A/N:** That was totally not overdramatic...


	19. Fallen

**A/N: **I seriously hate this chapter. I believe it took me longer to edit and rewrite it than to write it the first time. And it's still not exactly to my liking...

* * *

**19. Fallen**

_"You are a knight." _

_The ominous voice reverberated throughout the whole room, but it was expected. It always did when Nightmare spoke to him. He stayed silent, waiting for his master to elaborate. _

_The giant chess pieces all around made him feel slight unease; there was a sense of foreboding. Nightmare did nothing without reason, he never did. _

_"Take a look around. What do you see?" _

_The chessboard he was standing on, the pieces, staring with their grim visages at him. Both black and white, though he noticed that there were less of the white pieces. It reflected real life, Nightmare's demon beasts, the black pieces, were greater in number._

_"Our side winning."_

_Nightmare smiled slightly, almost unnoticeable. "The black pieces for my own army of demon beasts and the white pieces for the pitiful army of Star Warriors." _

_He saw the white pieces attack, the pawns taking the shapes of attacking soldiers. They were quickly pushed back, killed by the pawns of their, Nightmare's, own side; nameless demon beats mercilessly killing the soldiers, and with them their foolish hope of defeating the emperor of the universe._

_"Most demon beasts are mere pawns. However, there are exceptions. You are a knight." Nightmare paused for a moment. "_Meta Knight_." _

_Meta Knight inclined his head, thoughtful. There had been no question._

_"It is like a game of chess. The Galaxy Soldier is the opponent, attacking with their pawns and other pieces until there are none left. They mistake stupidity for bravery and relentlessly attack, never even realizing that I only ever sent my pawns at them and still win._

_But I grow tired of their daring attacks. I want _you_ to fight them."_

_"Of course." Meta Knight bowed slightly, but didn't leave yet. He hadn't been dismissed._

_Nightmare was silent for several seconds, ignoring Meta Knight. "Do you know why I consider you a knight and not a bishop, rook or even the queen piece? Because it's not your style and because it would be a waste."_

_Still Meta Knight said nothing._

_"The queen is a destructive piece, and it comes close to what you do. But the queen is the piece that holds back the most for fear of losing it. You cannot hold back, you cannot show mercy, you cannot hesitate._

_You are a knight because that is what I want you to be. You will be the one to attack when no one expects it, the one to attack from behind, the one to choose the unusual way to kill the enemy. It is what you were born to do; excel in everything you do, but stay hidden to the enemy for now."_

_"Yes, master." He would do well to stay silent otherwise, but he couldn't quite suppress the curiosity. "Who is the queen, if I may ask?"_

_Nightmare didn't answer and Meta Knight involuntary tensed, fearing punishment for his boldness. Though unexpectedly Nightmare did answer after a few more seconds of silence._

_"For the queen you ask? What about the king, Meta Knight? Do you think _I_ represent the king?"_

_He said nothing, for Nightmare's mocking undertone was evident._

_"I am beyond a mere title like the black king. I am the emperor, the one who controls it all!" _

_Meta Knight had been dismissed soon after, sent to destroy the Galaxy Soldier Army. While fighting for Nightmare he had never actually lost a battle, but still he had been unable to destroy them._

_Only after Yamikage's betrayal had the GSA been almost completely annihilated, leaving only few survivors behind. One of them was Meta Knight, although he had never been an official member._

* * *

Meta Knight sighed in something akin to frustration. No, frustration was much too strong a word, after all he didn't really care. Making Fumu cry and tell him she hated him had been far from what he had tried to accomplish, and it came a little unexpected. Not that it was wholly unexpected in general, but he had expected that to happen some time ago already or not at all anymore.

But it wasn't important. Fumu's tears were something unforeseen, but in her anger she had also told him something at least remotely interesting. Wolfwrath was the demon burning the village down.

The Meta Knight from a few months ago would have scoffed at the fact that he was actually thinking about going after it, and even the present version was hard-pressed to keep his expression blank. How ridiculous, he had stated expressively that he wouldn't interfere, and yet Fumu had managed to make him waver in his decision, although that clearly hadn't been her intention.

How utterly ridiculous.

"... Meta Knight?"

"What?" He managed to keep his tone of voice and expression emotionless, although he realized that it didn't matter one way or another. Tokkori wasn't perceptive enough to understand it anyway.

"Did Fumu really...?" Tokkori trailed of unsurely, for once at a loss for words.

"Say that she hates me and imply that she hopes I die? Yes, she did that." Meta Knight refused to look at Tokkori, but stared at the still opened door instead. His expression darkened somewhat.

He had done his utmost to make Fumu fear him, but had not succeeded. The moment of fear when she had first seen the blood, however, had been more than obvious. Her expression had shown her horror clearly, and Meta Knight could only guess that she had thought it was someone else's blood.

Now he had gotten her to admit her hatred for him even, but instead of the amusement he had always expected if he ever got her to that point, there was nothing. He was rather displeased by the whole situation actually and frowned in thought.

"What are you gonna do about that?"

"Nothing." Meta Knight's look made unmistakably clear to drop the subject, and Tokkori did not ask another question to that. "Fumu's opinion doesn't matter to me; it will be of no further consequence once I left."

"So you are serious? You're really gonna leave?" There was honest surprise, and Meta Knight's frown even deepened a little.

"What made you think that I am not serious?" Tokkori had no answer. "I am deadly serious."

Meta Knight had long since stopped looking at Tokkori, didn't need to. "What about that demon beast? Wolf- something."

"Wolfwrath."

That was the question, indeed, although Meta Knight had already decided what to do when Fumu had first told him the name.

He smirked darkly. He wouldn't help anyone but himself. If Wolfwrath's death served to save other people that didn't matter.

* * *

She came closer to the blazing inferno with every step she took, and still she hadn't caught up to Kirby. Shouting at Meta Knight had ruined her chances of catching up to him before she reached the village completely, but there had been no way around it.

She was still crying, a mixture of frustration, anger, desperation and even sadness was too much to ignore. _Sadness_, she was sad about what Meta Knight had done, but couldn't even fathom why. Anger, frustration and desperation she understood, but not the part of her that was sad.

For some time already she had known that something like that might happen, there had been enough signs indicating that Meta Knight had drastically changed from the person she had first met after all. Still, she hadn't expected him to be so uncaring about the whole situation and flat out refuse to help them.

It couldn't be helped of course, but Fumu felt betrayed, had expected him to at least fight the demon beast, even if it wasn't for the villagers' sake. The fact that she had told him she hated him might have been a little too much even, and she was well aware that it wasn't even true (not completely at least), but she hadn't been able to stop herself.

Meta Knight wouldn't care, though; he wouldn't care if she told him she loved him or she hated him, he would react with indifference to both.

Fumu had almost reached the village now, felt the heat, and heard the screams of terror. She hoped it was only terror and not the screams of people injured or dying.

She ran past burning houses, ignored them for the time being, more concerned with what had happened to everyone else. In the middle of the village she found almost everyone, staring at the scene before them in a mixture of horror and awe.

Fumu's eyes widened when she saw why that was. Kirby was facing the demon beast for the third time this day already, and again he was doing it with the ability Fumu guessed to be Fire, and that although he had to know it would be no use.

"Kirby-!"

But she was already too late. The wolf jumped at Kirby, teeth bared, and several gasps all around her echoed.

Kirby dodged at the last possible moment, was left with a perfect opportunity to attack his opponent, but didn't do it. He just increased the distance between himself and the wolf, tried to get farther away but stay close enough at the same time.

The absolute hopelessness of the whole situation really dawned on Fumu then. Kirby knew that his ability would be no use, but for lack of other options had chosen _some_ ability over _no_ ability.

He knew he had no chance like this, had hoped for Meta Knight's help and had been disappointed. Kirby had left without a word after Meta Knight had refused, and Fumu had not understood why. Now she thought she knew.

Meta Knight didn't care for the villagers, Kirby, however, did. He cared enough for them to disregard his own well-being and fight a demon beast although he had no real chance. Buying them and himself some time, trying to find a way to defend himself; that was what he was doing right now.

And what did all of them do? Stand around and mindlessly watch the happenings, in no way helpful to the whole situation they found themselves in.

"We have to help him!"

Fumu's demand almost fell on deaf ears. It wasn't that everyone else didn't understand her, but rather that no one voluntary decided to help. All of them looked away from her, some more uncomfortable than others, and did their best not to flinch when Wolfwrath's fire attacks crashed into houses.

"He needs our help! Kirby is doing that for you, us! He is going to die if we don't help him!"

Most people flinched at her words. They couldn't possibly ignore that, and the growling in the background only emphasized her point. The whole village emphasized her point even; it was burning, a blazing inferno, but they had been unable to do anything against it. Still they hesitated.

"Fumu's right... we have to help him."

"But how?"

Her grateful smile at chief Borun's agreement vanished. She had no idea what to do. Then she saw the buckets on the ground and remembered back.

Kirby had jumped at the wolf and although there shouldn't have been an effect, the wolf had flinched back. As Kirby had been dripping with the water from the fountain he had been pushed into.

Water, that had to be its weakness! It seemed to be getting stronger around fire, but it was getting weaker around water. They had to lure it to the ocean or just the river; it didn't matter as long as it wasn't inside the burning village any longer.

"We have to get it away from the fire." Determination shone in her eyes, all traces of her earlier tears gone. "Water, we need water for that."

"We can't extinguish the flames, we tried!"

"It's not for that." The surprise was almost tangible. "I believe water is its weakness. We have to get it to the ocean or the river, but for that we have to get it away from here. Using water if possible."

Understanding dawned on most faces and many of the Cappies scurried away.

Meanwhile Kirby was in a pinch. He had managed to dodge all attacks so far, but he was rapidly getting exhausted with the sheer amount of attacks Wolfwrath threw at him. It had switched to long-range attacks again, and although those didn't hit Kirby was hit with some fragments of the ground, which were blasted away.

Trying his best to avoid any direct hits, Kirby was soon backed into a corner and Fumu saw him look around, trying to find a way out of his predicament. There was no way and Fumu did the only thing she could think of to attract the demon beast's attention. In hindsight it was one of her most stupid ideas ever.

The stone she grabbed had been blasted in her direction by Wolfwrath itself, and she didn't think twice before she threw it at said demon. It hit and Wolfwrath instantly turned around to glare at her, ignoring Kirby and making Fumu its new target.

Kirby recklessly jumped at the wolf from behind and suffered three bleeding claw marks in the face for that, as well as a painful crash to the ground. Though even if Kirby had suffered injuries now, he hadn't been killed and that had really been Fumu's only goal. Instead she was now the one who was going to be killed.

Kirby went ignored and the wolf sprinted at her, sending Fumu into a state of panic. Before she could as much as turn around, the demon beast was already directly in front of her. With a shriek she covered her face with her arms and closed her eyes, but the expected pain never came.

There was a clank, a hiss of pain, a horrible sounding noise and a growl, and when Fumu opened her eyes again, she found her view blocked by a blue cape directly in front of her. That was impossible; he had refused to help them. And yet _he_ was the one who had saved her from certain death. Again.

Meta Knight had lowered his weapon and Fumu saw it glistering with the demon's blood. He had managed what Kirby had been unable to do. But he had not escaped unscathed either. His right arm was bleeding, caught either by the demon beast's claws or teeth.

"You-"

"You are a fool."

He didn't even turn around when he told her that, but Fumu didn't care. She was angry at him, but he had appeared, had saved her, and she was even willing to forgive him because of that. Where Kirby had not even been able to scratch his opponent, Meta Knight had already hurt it and had chances of winning.

Without waiting for Fumu to say something he charged at the wolf, quite unlike most of the fights she had seen. It was like the fight against Yamikage; although she hadn't seen his face yet, Fumu knew there was anger. He was almost radiating it in waves, it was unmistakable.

Galaxia's slash was aimed directly at the wolf's head, but it dodged to the side and in turn tried to slash at Meta Knight with its claws. The strike was blocked, but Wolfwrath took the opportunity to keep slashing at Meta Knight. He blocked or sidestepped all attacks and finally the demon beast spit the first fireball at him.

Again Meta Knight sidestepped and attacked with a Sword Beam in turn, which Wolfwrath also dodged. It was an up and down of attacking and dodging the opponent's attacks for both of them, but neither had been able to hit the other except for the opening strikes.

By now Fumu had been able to determine what had happened when Meta Knight had blocked for her. Wolfwrath was bleeding from its muzzle and Fumu was reasonably sure that Meta Knight had blocked by making Wolfwrath bite into Galaxia.

Meta Knight himself looked much worse, though. He had been hit on his right arm, presumably by one of the claws, and it was bleeding slightly, but that wasn't why he looked worse. He still hadn't bothered to get rid of the blood from his fight with Yamikage, and while it certainly helped to make him look more menacing, it also showed that he was still injured and had lost quite a bit of blood already.

For Fumu that fact was overshadowed by the fact that his eyes were burning red again, though. If she had had any doubt that Meta Knight was angry before, that was now gone. He was in a state of rage again.

Watching from afar Fumu could only wonder if that was how he had been in the past and if that was how Nightmare had planned it.

"Kirby, are you alright?"

Kirby had used the opportunity to get away from the ongoing battle and had slowly trudged over to Fumu. He looked terrible with the three claw marks on his face now and managed only a brief smile that looked more like a grimace to Fumu. He looked exhausted and ready to faint.

"Fine." Keeping the grimace up he looked at Meta Knight instead, grimace turning into an expression of worry. Fumu noticed right away.

"Is he... what is it?" She didn't even know which question she had wanted to ask at first, but Kirby's expression seriously worried her.

"Gone." And this word all the more so. What exactly was gone?

But Fumu didn't even have to ask, Meta Knight himself gave the answer. He had obviously lost it now, was laughing loudly, madly even, although there was no logical reason for it. He was bleeding some more now, as was Wolfwrath; both had landed another hit.

There was no reason to laugh, and with horror Fumu realized what exactly Kirby had meant. Although there had been traces of the pretty sarcastic but overall good Meta Knight left, there was now nothing of that left. Bloodlust and heartlessness were what defined him now.

Wolfwrath was the first one to attack this time, obviously annoyed by the way Meta Knight was laughing at the whole situation. It growled in anger and spit three fireballs in rapid succession, but Meta Knight dodged the first two and deflected the third one back at his opponent with Galaxia.

It crashed into Wolfwrath's face and exploded, and even seemed to have an effect although Fumu had concluded that fire was no use against it. The wolf was pushed back by its own attack; Meta Knight was again laughing as if he found the whole situation hilarious.

That might even be the case, though it didn't really sound like it. Meta Knight was laughing, but the sound was devoid of any real humor, a sinister sounding sound making Fumu's blood freeze.

If Meta Knight won Fumu feared he would be the next opponent.

"We got water!" In surprise Fumu whirled around, had forgotten that most of the villagers had left to get exactly that.

"I... don't think we need it any longer."

"What?"

Only then did the Cappies actually notice that Kirby stood besides Fumu and wasn't fighting the demon beast; had long since lost his copy ability. "But Kirby-?" Most had noticed the heated battle going on between Meta Knight and Wolfwrath, were in awe at the display.

Until Wolfwrath caught Meta Knight unaware and intentionally ran into him, colliding head on with him. Gasps sounded all around as Meta Knight crashed to the ground and Wolfwrath followed to finish him off.

"I'm going to help him!"

"Chief Borun, stop!" When Fumu shouted, it was already far too late. He had grabbed a bucket and was on the way to assist Meta Knight against a foe he had no chance against alone.

Before chief Borun arrived, Meta Knight had jumped back to his feet already and had blocked Wolfwrath's attack, once again the wolf biting into Galaxia. The chief arrived just as Wolfwrath was about to let go to keep from getting more injuries and threw the water from the bucket he was carrying.

Both Meta Knight and Wolfwrath saw it, but only Meta Knight got away without being hit. The wolf got hit with most of the water and howled in obvious pain, steam rising where the water evaporated on its body.

With another terrible howl of pain it disappeared somewhere into the flames and from view.

Fumu and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief; neither chief Borun nor Meta Knight had been killed and the demon beast had run away. Now they only had to extinguish the flames and think of something for the time it appeared again.

She had just turned around to tell the Cappies, when gasps of horror sounded around her. The feeling of absolute dread took a hold of her, and slowly she turned around. She couldn't even gasp in horror.

Meta Knight had pierced chief Borun with Galaxia. Right through the heart, and Fumu just knew there was no chance of survival.

The chief looked down with an expression of absolute surprise as blood spilled from his lips, but never got the chance to say any last words.

"Don't get in my way."

Meta Knight's words were full of suppressed anger as he yanked the weapon back out and chief Borun collapsed to the ground, dead.

The silence that followed was almost unbearable. No one dared speak a word, not even exclamations of horror, only silence.

When he looked up, his silhouette illuminated by the flames in an eerie light, but at the same time slightly blurred because of the surrounding smoke, Fumu only saw his red eyes and the blood.

Like Death himself he stood surrounded by destruction, covered in blood, although it was mostly his own. It was a haunting image, one Fumu and everyone else would probably never forget.

He looked directly at them for a moment, a malicious glint in his eyes, and again Fumu felt like he was looking directly into her soul. A terrifying feeling, especially after what he had just done.

Abruptly he turned around and disappeared somewhere into the flames, gone. In more ways than one.

Fumu released the breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding.

"He..."

She looked away from the scene, looked at Kirby instead. He looked... Fumu had no idea what exactly it was. It was something akin to sorrow, but not quite. There was something else, something she couldn't grasp, and she couldn't try to find out, for at that moment Kirby ran away.

"Kirby..."

He couldn't be...

Fumu quickly followed. She wouldn't let Kirby go alone.

Only then did the screaming and shouting begin, as everyone fully realized what had just happened; one of their own gone forever.

* * *

Wolfwrath had left the village, afraid of the water. Meta Knight could tell; although there were also fires raging it wouldn't take the chance of being attacked with water again. And that was its mistake; getting away from the village was the most stupid thing it could have done.

Meta Knight was assured of his victory now; it was running directly in direction of the river, a place where Wolfwrath would be at a big disadvantage, just as it had had an advantage in the burning village.

There was more water than usual in the river. After the snow had melted after Ice Dragon's death there had been more water anyway, but it had rained just the day before and several other days before that in fact, certainly caused by the unnatural weather that Ice Dragon had caused before.

It played right into Meta Knight's cards now that he knew the river had turned into a rapid stream because of that; Wolfwrath was running into its doom.

In the village there had also been unnecessary distractions; he should have just let Fumu die instead of saving her. But something had held him back. He wasn't sure what it was, but she was the only person besides Kirby he would have saved.

The others were just an annoyance; Borun's death didn't evoke any remorse, though neither did it evoke satisfaction. He had been in the way, nothing more, and nothing less. He would have killed any other Cappy in his way, they were nothing to him.

He caught up to Wolfwrath exactly where he thought he would. The river was in the way and Meta Knight was sure of his victory. There was no escape for the demon beast, it was at a disadvantage even, Meta Knight was going to win, was going to kill it.

"There is no escape."

Wolfwrath snarled in response, but didn't attack yet, took the whole situation in. It had to realize that there was nothing it could do, nothing that would save its pathetic life.

Meta Knight laughed again, the feeling of triumph overwhelming him. Wolfwrath growled in anger.

Then, without warning, it attacked.

Meta Knight sidestepped the fireball and followed with an attack of his own, a Sword Beam aimed for Wolfwrath's head.

The wolf jumped back, came dangerously close to the river, and Meta Knight mercilessly took advantage of the situation. He followed, grinning madly, Galaxia piercing flesh when Wolfwrath was unable to dodge all strikes.

A pained howl sounded, blood was spilled, but the wound only made Wolfwrath stronger. It suddenly attacked with a vengeance Meta Knight hadn't expected and it briefly overwhelmed his defense with a speed much faster than anything else it had attacked with so far.

It lunged at Meta Knight without a regard for its own safety and was rewarded with a direct hit. The mask took the brunt of the combination of teeth and claws attacking, but Meta Knight clearly felt that it would shatter should it take another direct hit.

Blindly he lashed out with Galaxia to get Wolfwrath away, hit it, again drawing blood, and it was enough to get it to back off. It lasted only for a moment, though. There was no reprieve, it slashed with its claws at him, forcing Meta Knight to block and hastily get away as it fired another fireball at point-blank range.

That didn't change anything. He was the stronger one; there was no way he was going to lose. He was going to kill Wolfwrath and he was going to enjoy it.

Meta Knight changed tactic then. Fighting at close range wasn't going to work right now and the smoke from Wolfwrath's fire attacks was blocking his view. A tornado, caused by Galaxia, blew the smoke away and headed straight for Wolfwrath, but it had been a foolish endeavor.

Completely unfazed the wolf breathed fire at Meta Knight's tornado, but instead of the fire being blown away, it intensified tremendously in size and heat. Meta Knight had to take a few steps back, closer to the river, as the heat wave washed over him.

He had given his advantage away. There was the river, Wolfwrath's weakness water, but the fiery tornado hadn't died away yet, burned all the grass and fueled Wolfwrath's strength. Still it didn't matter.

Wolfwrath came closer through the wall of flames, grinning now, blood dripping from its muzzle and the other places where Meta Knight had hit it. It didn't seem to mind, completely fixated on Meta Knight.

This was it; Meta Knight was going to win, going to kill Wolfwrath.

Both of them charged, sword and claws clashing. Meta Knight pushed, but Wolfwrath overwhelmed him, forcing Galaxia out of his grip. He stood frozen only for a split second, hardly believing that this was happening. It was enough time for Wolfwrath to finish it.

Meta Knight felt a part of his mask shatter as the claws pierced him, his eyes slightly widening in surprise. He couldn't have lost, there was no way.

The wolf yanked its claws back out, blood splashing everywhere, his blood. It spilled from his lips, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, and he staggered to the side; almost falling.

If he could only reach Galaxia...

But Wolfwrath wouldn't let him. Again it attacked with its claws, and all Meta Knight could do was try to dodge. He didn't make it completely, the claws slashing all over his right arm, more blood splashing to the ground.

He was panting, his limbs becoming heavy, his right arm completely unusable now anyway, and he knew there was nothing he could do. The pain was almost unbearable, and he had to try with all his might not to lose consciousness immediately.

"Meta!"

"Meta Knight!"

Kirby and Fumu. But it was too late now.

He saw Wolfwrath's next attack coming at him in slow motion, but felt barely able to move at all. His scream of pain was cut short by the gurgling noise that escaped his throat as blood welled up; at the same time he was left unable to breathe properly.

When Wolfwrath yanked its claws back out this time, Meta Knight did fall.

They had been standing beside the river, a tactical move that hadn't been of any use to Meta Knight in the end, and he fell right into the stream. He got one last look at Kirby and Fumu before he involuntary closed his eyes, both with expressions of horror on their faces, but he couldn't hear what they shouted.

_"Gotta help!"_

_"I hate you!"_

How ridiculous that it would end like this.

* * *

_"You want to become my followers..." _

_"Yes, you saved our lives. We owe you."_

_Followers, he had no need for them. They would only slow him down in everything he did, would get him killed. He refused to let those bandits follow him for whatever reason they had come up with, he didn't care._

_Still he hesitated._

_"What are your names?" Meta Knight turned around, looked at them._

_"I am Sword." The taller one._

_"And I am Blade." The other._

_Sword and Blade, bandits who had decided to change their lives completely, just because he had saved them. It was surprising to say the least, people didn't just change suddenly. But they hadn't been bandits their whole lives, he was sure. They had hesitated to attack him, even if it had just been for fear of their own safety. _

_They were searching for some purpose in their lives now, but Meta Knight wouldn't be able to help them with that. He had no noble intentions, wasn't on a journey to save the universe. His only goal was to survive; he didn't even care for either the demon beasts or Star Warriors, he had fought long enough in their war already._

_"My followers... Will you follow my orders?" _

_"Yes, of course!" There was no hesitation._

_"Then listen, and listen well. I want you to protect this planet; protect the population from demon beasts." _

_"Protect..."_

_"...the population?" Meta Knight nodded at them, their confusion evident._

_"I leave this task to you. This planet is of no importance to Nightmare, but he has as good as won here. The Galaxy Soldier Army has lost and will not be able to help protect people. You two, however, are no members of the army and you know this planet. _

_Demon beasts have a tendency to be unnecessarily cruel to inhabitants of planets they conquered, but they normally let them be if someone dares stand up to them. You are strong enough for this task and I trust you to fulfill it."_

_They didn't even question his orders or knowledge. They just listened and instantly agreed, never once doubting his intentions. _

_"Yes, sir!" _

_Even calling him 'sir' when he had not given any reason to trust him or follow his orders. They were going much too far, even if he had saved their lives. _

_"Meta Knight, my name is Meta Knight." _

_"We will follow your orders, Sir Meta Knight."_

_"We'll keep the population save!" _

_How annoying, but at least he wouldn't have to take them along. They would only get in the way anyway._

* * *

There was no way this was happening. It couldn't be happening. Fumu stared numbly at the river, the place where Meta Knight had disappeared into the stream. He had mercilessly killed chief Borun and Fumu had expected him to kill the wolf as well. Somehow they could have dealt with Meta Knight, but now they wouldn't need to, never again.

Kirby stared with widened eyes at the river, not moving in the slightest, in shock.

A howl sounded and Fumu was reminded of the demon beast responsible for all their grief. Without Wolfwrath nothing of this would have happened; no one would have died or be injured and the village wouldn't have been almost completely destroyed.

It was bleeding some more now, Meta Knight had inflicted more injuries, but it seemed unconcerned, triumphant even. It had fulfilled its orders, something no other demon beast had even come close to.

Kirby snapped out of his stupor then, his look traveling from the river to something else. Meta Knight had lost Galaxia at some point before they had arrived and it was much closer to them than it was to Wolfwrath.

The wolf noticed where he looked, and instantly both Kirby and Wolfwrath sprinted for Galaxia. Kirby reached it first, but lost it when he was unable to get completely out of the demon beast's way.

"Kirby!"

Galaxia was high in the air, out of reach for Kirby and it would stay that way for at least another few seconds. He had to get Galaxia; there was absolutely no other way to win! But for that he had to fly...

"Come, Warp Star!"

She could have kicked herself for forgetting again; Meta Knight had told her it was the source of Kirby's power and it also enabled him to fly. He had never told her why she was able to summon it, but that didn't matter now, she would ask him la-

Fumu briefly closed her eyes, realizing that there would be no later. But it wasn't important now, Kirby's survival was more important.

Kirby escaped the next attack where Wolfwrath lunged at him, and after that the Warp Star appeared, giving Kirby the advantage of being able to fly. Galaxia was still falling down and Kirby inhaled it, turning into Sword Kirby, the first ability he had ever used in Dreamland.

He flew at Wolfwrath, jumped off his Warp Star and struck with a two-handed grip, using all his might. The demon beast blocked with both paws, but Kirby's momentum was enough to let him overcome its defense. He narrowly missed its left eye, but left a deep gash all over the left side of its face.

Kirby jumped onto his Warp Star again as Wolfwrath howled in obvious pain and blindly slashed in the direction it had last seen Kirby in. He was never in danger of being hit by that attack, but that wasn't all. Looking around the wolf spotted him flying above and spit one of its fireball attacks at him, just as Kirby himself shot a Sword Beam.

Kirby was pushed off his Warp Star by the blast and fell while Wolfwrath jumped back and suddenly ran away. Fumu saw it run in direction of the castle, but was unable to stop it, was more worried for Kirby.

The Warp Star caught him a few meters above the ground and then flew closer to the ground; Kirby jumped down, looking absolutely miserable. He wouldn't chase after Wolfwrath.

Kirby had neither won nor lost in the end, but he looked like he had lost, and in a way he had. There was no longer blood spilling from the three gashes on his face, it had dried, but it looked bad and Fumu wondered how he had managed to ignore the pain. He had dispelled his copy ability, but clung to Galaxia, his whole arm shaking because of how hard he was gripping it.

"Kirby... are you okay?" He wasn't, of course he wasn't.

There was no verbal answer, but Kirby's whole body started to tremble. He turned to look at her and Fumu saw that he was crying, tears flowing down from his eyes. Uncontrollable sobs escaped his lips and he let Galaxia fall to the ground; it landed in the grass with a thud.

It was too much for Fumu; she started to cry with Kirby, already for the second time this day. She couldn't help it; after everything that had happened today she was surprised she hadn't cried in the village or the castle already.

It was quite some time before both of them stopped crying.

* * *

Eating hardly helped to give him other thoughts. Dedede didn't know where Escargon or Waddle Doo where, didn't even know if both of them were still alive, but he freaking didn't care right now! He just wanted someone, _anyone_ to tell him what was going on.

There had been serious damage to his castle, but he could even live with that if someone just told him that Wolfwrath had succeeded in its task of killing Meta Knight. He had waited for what felt like forever now without knowing anything of what was going on. He didn't even understand the Waddle Dees!

At least he finally got his answer then, for Wolfwrath appeared through the hole in the wall it had caused itself. It was bleeding all over his floor from several gashes, but at least it had survived whatever it had done, eliciting expectant silence from Dedede.

Only it completely ignored him, went for the transporter and was gone before he could as much as ask a question.

"What the-! What's goin' on? What happened?"

Customer Service had the audacity to ignore him and look at Wolfwrath behind him instead, frowning slightly. "Kirby?" Dedede got angrier by the minute; Customer Service continued to ignore him and he didn't understand any other words.

"Oi!"

After another few moments of ignoring him, Customer Service turned around, trying but failing to smile with his usual fake pleasantness. He smiled more than usual.

"It seems that Wolfwrath succeeded. Meta Knight is dead."

* * *

**A/N:**Eh... whoops? Mm, anyway I'll leave you with that for now. Yeah I know, absolutely evil of me to do this, and it's not even a cliffhanger...

I still wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance. ;)


	20. Those Who Remain

**20. Those Who Remain**

It had been a long, silent and despair-filled way back home. Neither Fumu nor Kirby had been crying on the way, but Fumu knew that it wouldn't take much for them to start again. She was almost certain that both of them would be crying again soon enough.

Kirby was carrying Galaxia, dragging it across the stone floor and causing an unpleasant sound, but Fumu couldn't bring herself to care for that. His eyes, normally shining with happiness or determination, depending on the situation, had dulled to a lifeless blue. He was staring at the ground, and Fumu had to make sure that he didn't walk into corners although she herself had enough problems as it was.

They had reached her home by now, but Fumu hesitated to enter, for various reasons. They had left without telling anyone, had certainly worried everyone. Fumu herself had suffered no physical injuries, but Kirby had. She also didn't really want to talk about what had happened, not now, not ever, but realized that there was no way around that.

Sighing she entered, Kirby close behind. It took some seconds for everyone to notice that they had returned, but when they did, they rushed at them, asking if they were alright.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Yeah..." Fumu looked around, spotting Escargon close to the sofa where Waddle Doo was now awake, if only barely, and at least appeared to be watching what was going on. He looked pale, but at least _he_ was still alive. "Kirby is hurt."

Escargon instantly acted and pushed his way through, examining Kirby for the second time this day already. He grimaced when he saw the gashes, but Kirby didn't show any reaction and let himself be led to a chair and sat down. He didn't let go of Galaxia.

"This is going to hurt a little." Kirby didn't seem to care and made no sound throughout the whole of Escargon's treatment although it had to hurt. He sat there, motionless, and didn't even flinch once.

Everyone else watched Kirby's injuries being treated and waited with asking questions until Escargon was finished. Bun, Fumu noticed, was up again, but even he didn't ask any questions.

When Escargon finished some minutes later, Kirby's wounds were covered with patches, and Kirby himself looked at Galaxia, ignoring everything around him. His expression clearly showed his pain, but it wasn't because of the gashes Wolfwrath had left on his face.

Escargon was the first to break the silence, although Fumu had clearly seen her parents had almost started speaking several times. "What happened?"

Everyone's attention was now on Fumu, except for Kirby's, and she needed several seconds to find her voice and answer.

"Wolfwrath... Wolfwrath happened."

They didn't press her, but she saw all the worried looks they kept sending her and Kirby. She couldn't fault them; Kirby was clearly in some form of pain, and Fumu herself felt like she would burst into tears any moment now. But they had to know, no one else would tell them, no one else even knew the full truth.

"After we left... Kirby asked Meta Knight for help, but he... he refused. He said that it was the end, that it wasn't his problem anymore. I..." Fumu swallowed, remembered. She had told him that she hated him, the last thing she had ever told him.

"We ran to the village, and Kirby fought Wolfwrath again, but... he had no chance. He was losing. I... I attracted the demon beast's attention and it attacked me instead." There were shocked gasps, but Fumu ignored them. Escargon had been the one to ask the question, and he was the one she was looking at now. He hadn't gasped, just listened to what she had to say, almost expressionless.

He was also the only one who had noticed that she hadn't continued one of her sentences.

"Meta Knight saved me. He got injured, but he saved me." For some reason she had to point it out; he had saved her although he had been injured because of it. "He fought the demon beast after that... And then it got the upper hand."

She paused, closed her eyes for a moment, remembering what exactly had happened.

"Fumu, are you alright?"

She opened her eyes again, looking directly into the worried faces of everyone present. "Yeah, I'm fine." She tried a smile but knew she failed miserably. It didn't even come close to a smile, looked like a grimace instead.

"Meta Knight... he was able to block the attack, and chief Borun came to help him. Wolfwrath's... the demon beast's weakness is water, I told everyone and..." She paused again, collecting her thoughts. "Chief Borun attacked it with water and got it to back off. It was in pain and disappeared somewhere into the flames." She stopped, suddenly remembering the village.

"The village! It... it was in flames when we left, we have to help everyone!" Fumu looked around in panic, about to run off when Escargon grabbed her.

"Calm down! There is nothing you can do. Calm down, Fumu. Tell us what happened; we'll see if we can help later, it's too late now anyway." Fumu had struggled at first, but calmed down after a few moments. There was nothing she could do...

"Fumu dear, please. What happened?" Her mother. But she couldn't tell them, there was no way...

"He died." It wasn't more than a whisper, but everyone heard her. She wasn't even sure whom she was talking about now. Meta Knight? Chief Borun? She was only at the point where the chief had died, but it wasn't-

"Who died?" No one had dared ask that question for some seconds. It was finally her mother to ask, noting Fumu's distress but having no idea what else to do other than let her talk. Escargon had let go of her by now, looking a little paler than usual, just like everyone else.

"Fumu?"

"Chief Borun... he died." She couldn't... they had to know, but she couldn't tell them, there was no way-

"How... did the demon beast come back?" She closed her eyes again, refused to open them for some time to follow. They had to know.

"Meta Knight... Meta Knight killed him." They all looked at her in shock, but Fumu looked away from them, looked at Kirby instead. He had closed his eyes, sorrow clearly to see in his expression.

"Why... why did-?" She wouldn't answer that question, refused to. She would spare them the reason Meta Knight had given.

"He left to fight Wolfwrath after that... Kirby and I followed him..." Her voice gave out and tears were flowing down her face. Was she crying for chief Borun, for Meta Knight, for everything that had happened? She didn't know, but she couldn't stop now.

Kirby had also started crying, silent tears falling down his face. His grip on Galaxia tightened.

"When... when we arrived..." With tearful voice she tried to continue, but she couldn't finish her sentence.

"Fumu... please stop, don't hurt yourself." Fumu almost laughed at her father's words, but couldn't. They had wanted to know what happened, she couldn't stop now.

"Wolfwrath... it..." She took a breath, tried to calm down a little at least, but it didn't work.

"Meta Knight is dead... Wolfwrath killed him."

There had been so much shock today already, just a few moments ago when she had told them of Borun's death for the last time. She didn't know what she had expected when she told them of Meta Knight's death; satisfaction because he had been the one to kill the chief, no reaction at all?

And still she was crying, didn't know the exact reason, didn't care for the reason.

"The sword..." Escargon looked incredibly sad, looked at the quietly sobbing Kirby and Galaxia in his hand. He had known before, Fumu was sure now. He had known it was Meta Knight's sword, had expected the news of Meta Knight's death.

But it didn't matter to Fumu now; just as Meta Knight had said, it was the end.

* * *

Two hours later and Fumu had at least stopped crying. She had left her home, couldn't stand to be surrounded by all those people, had to get away. Sighing she looked into the direction of the village from the tower she was standing on. There was still some black smoke rising, but it was clear the fire had subsided. She wondered if there was a way to save the houses, but she doubted it, Wolfwrath had completely burned everything down.

How would the villagers react to everything? They had seen Meta Knight mercilessly kill chief Borun, but they didn't know that Meta Knight had also died yet. Would they also be sad for his death or would they be happy?

She herself couldn't tell them, not yet at least. Someone else would have to do it, she refused.

"Are you okay?"

Fumu was startled out of her depressing thoughts. Turning around, she looked surprised at Escargon. His expression was somewhat grim, completely understandable considering the circumstances, but he looked also slightly concerned at Fumu.

"Yeah..." It was an obvious lie, but Escargon didn't call her out on it, settled for standing beside her and looking with her into the distance. It was strange that Escargon was the one to do it; Fumu had rarely talked to him, thinking that he was completely on Dedede's side. Now she knew she had been wrong.

It was in no way a comfortable silence, but it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as Fumu would have thought. Maybe because Escargon actually understood part of what she felt. He hadn't been there when it had happened, but just like Fumu he had also known that something like this could happen, had still chosen to trust Meta Knight at least a little.

"I told him that I hated him."

Escargon looked up in surprise, didn't need to ask whom she was talking about. It was obvious.

"It was the last thing I ever told him, before he..." Saying it out loud made it all seem more real; it was silly in a way, Fumu knew, it was too late now anyway, but saying it again was like making it real. She could pretend that Borun and Meta Knight still lived for only a moment longer if she didn't say it out loud.

Escargon sighed, looking much older suddenly. Fumu realized that he was worried, about what exactly she couldn't tell, though.

"It's too late now..." He trailed off, unsure how to continue his sentence.

They settled for silence for some minutes, before Fumu was again the one to interrupt it. "You knew, didn't you? That something like this could happen?" She was only vaguely interested, thought she already knew the answer. In another situation the answer would have been much more of concern to her, but now it really didn't matter any longer. Kirby had obviously known, she had known, and Escargon had also known.

"Yes..." He sighed, looked at her now. "I have always known that he was... different, darker. He didn't even hide it, but everyone chose to ignore it. I am... well sad that he went that far in the end, though."

"He... I think he lost it before... before he killed the chief." But she couldn't figure out the _why_. Why had he suddenly snapped, why had he progressed to that state of complete madness at all? There had to be an explanation; one she wouldn't ever get to know now.

Escargon waited for her to go on.

"There were already signs when he fought the Ice Dragon. Then he fought that ninja yesterday and it got so much worse. He was already on the brink then, even beyond that at a point, but he... he managed and he was almost too calm when Kirby and I talked to him.

And in the village... he laughed when he fought Wolfwrath." Fumu wouldn't forget that sound, the horror at her own realization then.

She didn't say anything else after that, didn't feel like telling the whole story again. One time had been more than enough and she wouldn't do it again voluntarily. This time Escargon was the one to break the silence, his expression still grim overall.

"Do you think..." He hesitated. "Do you think it was foolish to trust him?"

"Foolish...?" Fumu's face contorted into a painful expression. Meta Knight's last words to her- She closed her eyes briefly, a futile attempt to suppress the memories.

"Wha-?"

"It _was_ foolish, wasn't it?" It wasn't much more than a whisper, and yet Escargon had heard her, his whole expression becoming concerned at the way she was reacting to his question. "And yet... Do you think he was truly evil?"

She looked at the sky, waited for Escargon's answer. He took his time, contemplated what to say. "No, he was... his motives were never clear to me, but I don't think he was evil. If he was evil someone else would have died long before now. I cannot help but question his choices, but I think he was pretending at times."

"Pretend...? He changed everyone's perception..." Only now did Fumu _really_ understand what Meta Knight had meant a little more than a week ago. She still couldn't even pretend to understand his motives for this game he had been playing; "game over" she understood.

Fumu sighed and took a sidelong glance at Escargon for a moment. "But it's over, isn't it? It's over, and here we stand, talking about someone we never talked about while he was still alive. Isn't it ironic how much he still affects our life, even in death?"

Escargon never answered her question.

* * *

Something had happened. Nightmare didn't know what it was yet, but Customer Service's smug smile was hard to miss. It made Nightmare almost frown in displeasure, but he wouldn't resort to that in this case yet. First he had to know what it was.

"There was a development you will be most interested in."

"What is it?"

Customer Service allowed himself a smile before he answered, something no one else would ever dare in Nightmare's presence. But Nightmare's patience was rather short-lived at the moment and even Customer Service wasn't exempted from punishment.

"Wolfwrath succeeded in its task. Meta Knight is dead."

Nightmare was indeed most interested in this development, only not for the same reason Customer Service was. Where Customer Service made it more than obvious that he was happy about Meta Knight's death, Nightmare hadn't even known that Wolfwrath had been sent to accomplish that, nor was he particularly happy about it.

Actually he was really displeased now. Customer Service acting on his own was nothing unexpected, he did all the time after all, but Meta Knight hadn't been supposed to die now. He hadn't been supposed to die at all.

Customer Service's smile became rather strained when he noticed that Nightmare's mood was far from favorable.

"What about Kirby?"

"Kirby is still alive. Although he is now injured, Wolfwrath was unable to kill him as well."

Now he did frown. This wasn't going as he had planned at all. With Meta Knight killed by a demon beast, Kirby's threat level rose significantly. Not just because he was now the only real threat left, but rather because he had cared for Meta Knight. Anger made people strong, and there would be anger at Nightmare, even if it wasn't his fault.

"Wolfwrath returned?"

"Yes."

Again something he hadn't known. But it was good that Wolfwrath had survived if not surprising if it had fought both Meta Knight and Kirby. Now there was a decision to be made; he couldn't allow Kirby to stay alive now, not when Meta Knight was dead and it had been Wolfwrath to do it. Seeing as it was one of his demon beasts Kirby would blame him by extension, and even if he was perfectly save, he would still do well to take absolutely no chances.

He had been careless with that in the past, thinking himself absolutely invincible, and while he still thought that, there was always the slim possibility of defeat. It was a ridiculous notion, but he wouldn't risk it.

"Send Wolfwrath to kill Kirby."

"Wh-?" Customer Service had been about to question his orders, but one look silenced him. He would do well to stay silent unless spoken to even, or Nightmare would punish him.

"It is unavoidable now because you foolishly had to kill Meta Knight."

His displeasure showed, Customer Service had certainly noticed by now. He had taken the trouble of telling Nightmare directly, but now he would regret that decision. A few steps back he had already taken, making clear that he was well aware of the fact that Nightmare was not happy.

"Ah... but Wolfwrath is injured."

Nightmare didn't care. So was Kirby, and if it had killed Meta Knight it would also be able to kill Kirby. Especially if one considered that a fire ability at least would be no use against Wolfwrath and only made it stronger.

"That was an order. Do as I say or suffer the consequences - now."

It was a first with Customer Service. There had been no need for any rebukes or threats so far. At least it worked, for Customer Service bowed slightly and hurriedly left, surely telling Wolfwrath to head back to Dreamland.

There was no way to salvage the situation. Meta Knight's death meant the end of several possibilities Nightmare had foreseen, the end of most possibilities even. His death hadn't been planned, certainly also not expected, and there was _no_ plan for the whole situation. Nightmare hadn't even thought of a case where Meta Knight wouldn't survive.

Several plans had been made, either ending with Meta Knight serving him again, or with Meta Knight serving and betraying him again. In that case Nightmare would have killed him of course, but still that had been a plan for the future and not right now.

He felt annoyed with his planning being all for naught, annoyed at Meta Knight for actually dying.

None of his carefully thought out plans had been for Kirby. Now he only remained as a problem. His loyalty had always been to Meta Knight for some reason, never to Nightmare. And even if Meta Knight was now dead, this loyalty would remain.

Nightmare would be better off with Kirby dead.

* * *

The next morning was mocking them with beautiful weather. Rain and storms would be more appropriate for most people's moods, but Fumu wouldn't complain.

Kirby had stayed the night, and while he certainly didn't seem happy and didn't eat like he normally did (inhaling everything in sight), he at least ate something. Fumu herself didn't feel like eating at all and her thoughts were at the previous night.

She had expected it, but still the nightmares had been unwelcome. Chief Borun's death had been relived again, along with the conversation with Meta Knight and his death. Over and over again. Fumu felt tired and exhausted, but going back to sleep would only make her have nightmares again.

The overall mood at the table was rather subdued and no one even tried to change it, all of them knowing full well that it would be no use anyway. Her parents had tried the evening before with less than favorable results; the mood had probably even worsened then.

Meaningless small talk had been their weapon of choice, certainly not a bad decision overall, but ultimately it had been a futile attempt, doomed from the start. Kirby hadn't even pretended to listen to anything going on around him, and Fumu had been hard pressed to just pretend for at least a moment.

Her thoughts had soon turned to more depressing thoughts, and it had shown. Fumu wasn't quite sure what her expression had looked like then, normal it had certainly not been.

Right now she managed to keep her expression in check at least; nonetheless she knew she wasn't the only one who was more than happy to leave the table.

She hurriedly left with Kirby to escape any conversation her parents might have planned, Bun coming along on their way outside. They left the castle, in no hurry to reach Kirby's home for probably more than one reason. Glumly Fumu remembered that Tokkori certainly didn't know what had happened, or if he did not everything.

Bun showed a surprising amount of tact and didn't try to talk about Meta Knight or the village at all, instead chose the great weather as his topic.

"Man, it's good to have this kinda weather back. The rain was annoying."

"Yeah, it's... nice weather." Fumu tried her best to answer, but her thoughts inevitably turned back to other topics. Kirby carried Galaxia again and seemed not nearly as enthusiastic as normally, seemed really depressed even. She couldn't blame him.

Whatever Fumu tried, she just couldn't get her thoughts to obey her and stay away from the topic of Meta Knight's death, and she was almost glad when they finally reached his house. Of course it brought a whole new set of painful memories, and they would also have to talk to Tokkori...

"Oh there you are! Wondered where you've been. Where's the other one?" Fumu's expression fell when she realized that Tokkori didn't know, of course had no way of knowing. He had been witness to their last conversation and would know that Meta Knight had gone to the village. But he didn't know what had happened.

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Tokkori hadn't even noticed Fumu's and Kirby's expressions, or the patches on his face for that matter, focused on Bun who had been the one to talk and didn't look quite as sad as the other two.

"Um..." Still, he didn't want to be the one to tell Tokkori, something Fumu could understand perfectly.

"Come on, tell me!" His expression only showed curiosity, excitement. He still didn't notice their expressions.

Fumu hesitated, then "Meta Knight is dead." There, now she had said it.

"Yeah, nice try. What's really going on?" Fumu didn't know if that was worse than the shock she had expected. Shrugging it off as a lie was no reaction she had expected, and in a way it was certainly worse than the other reactions she had gotten so far.

Tokkori soon realized that they were telling the truth. He saw their expressions, Kirby holding Galaxia which he knew was Meta Knight's sword. "You're serious..."

Silence settled until Fumu sighed some seconds later, tired, exhausted. "Yes... He is gone."

* * *

"Again?"

"Yes, orders from Nightmare himself. We are to get rid of Kirby as well. I would entrust this task to you, but he specifically told me to send Wolfwrath."

Great, and just when he had thought he would never see that wolf again. Getting rid of Kirby might not be that bad of an idea, but to have freaking Wolfwrath in the castle again... One time had been more than enough already in Dedede's opinion, but of course he couldn't oppose Nightmare himself. Even Dedede realized how foolish that would be.

"Fine! Send it again, but I'm goin' ta go with it!" That obnoxious smile was on Customer Service's face again and infuriated Dedede all the more.

"That is acceptable. You may even attack Kirby. I was ordered to send Wolfwrath, but I don't think it makes much of a difference who is the one to strike the finishing blow."

"Nah, the wolf can do it. I'm only goin' ta watch for entertainment."

"As you wish."

Three minutes later Dedede glared at the demon beast. It glared right back, but with satisfaction Dedede noticed how there were still some pretty obvious signs of the fights with Meta Knight and Kirby.

There were several wounds not yet healed on its body, the worst of them directly in its face. Served it right.

"You know your orders. _King_ Dedede will accompany you."

Wolfwrath growled in obvious displeasure, angry at the fact that Dedede would come along, but the king of Dreamland couldn't care less. It was not like the wolf could stop him.

"He's _not_ in the castle, so don't go destroying it again! He's somewhere else, at home probably." Another growl, one that didn't intimidate Dedede at all. He expected the wolf to run off and was surprised when it didn't, kept standing on one spot and glaring at him.

"It seems you will have to lead the way."

Dedede was the next one to growl - in frustration.

* * *

It was depressing how Fumu was too frustrated to be of any use when trying to cheer up Kirby. Bun tried his best, but nothing worked and Fumu couldn't even bring herself to help him.

More or less enjoying the sunrays (Fumu doubted Kirby enjoyed them any more than she did) was at least better than staying inside and doing nothing. Not that they were doing much besides sitting in the grass on a small hill and next to a tree, not quite in its shade, after Bun had stopped trying, but that was completely besides the point. Even Fumu realized how ridiculous that was.

Actually it was rather nice to just be sitting in the grass. Fumu even managed to think of nothing... much. She couldn't help it, of course she was thinking of everything that had happened, but it was to a lesser extent right now. She was distracted by the slight breeze, the only thing actually happening.

In a way it was a moment of peace; only now did she actually appreciate these moments. They had been rare, nonexistent, when Meta Knight had still been alive...

Her blood froze and she was trying to wake from what was undoubtedly a nightmare when she heard a sound that couldn't be real. That terrible howl had to be from a nightmare, it couldn't be back!

Kirby and Bun had also heard it, but it was a nightmare, of course they would hear it. It came at them from the direction of the castle, running beside Dedede who came driving in his tank. Then Fumu knew it was no nightmare; she had only dreamed of what had really happened last night, and Dedede hadn't been involved.

"No..."

It was reality, Wolfwrath running in their direction and stopping a few meters away.

"We already got Meta Knight, Kirby will be next now!"

And Kirby didn't look like he would be fighting back. He seemed frozen, staring at Wolfwrath with widened eyes. He was still carrying Galaxia, yet he made no move to use it.

"Come, Warp Star!"

This time Fumu didn't forget. It was some time before it came, but Wolfwrath hadn't attacked, was staring Kirby down and obviously enjoyed it. Although it still sported all the wounds from the day before, it didn't seem bothered by it.

Kirby was picked up by his Warp Star more or less against his will and carried away, hopefully out of Wolfwrath's reach. The wolf didn't mind at all, after all it was able to attack from a distance. One of its trademark fireballs rushed at Kirby, and the Warp Star was only barely able to dodge.

"We gotta do something!"

"I know! We-" Bun and Fumu's conversation was cut short by the other person present.

"You're not goin' anywhere!"

Dedede made a motion to indicate the tank he was sitting in; the threat was obvious. Normally Fumu would not be afraid of that; Dedede would never shoot at them after all. But now he looked very much like he would actually shoot if they so much as ran away to help Kirby.

"You're not gonna-" Before Bun had finished his sentence, Dedede had shown them that he _was_ going to shoot at them.

Both Fumu and Bun flinched when Dedede's attack impacted four meters beside them, paling instantly. "Y-you-"

"Oh I _am_ gonna shoot at ya." There was something evil lurking in his eyes, something Fumu knew hadn't been there before. Dedede chuckled darkly, evilly, and Fumu stared at him, suddenly afraid. What had happened to him?

"Sis!" Bun's shout made her turn, look at what was happening to Kirby. He wasn't faring well, not well at all. Wolfwrath had managed to hit the Warp Star, had shot it down, and Kirby was falling down, right at the wolf.

Wolfwrath made ready to swipe its claws at Kirby, to finish him off, and Kirby had to act fast. He had obviously not even thought of defending himself before, but he also refused to just die.

Galaxia and Wolfwrath's claws crashed, Wolfwrath attacking and Kirby blocking. Though although Kirby had managed to block, he was pushed back and skidded to a halt a few meters away from his opponent.

Fumu had expected Kirby to fight back now, fight to defend himself at least, but he seemed to have no such plans. He backed off further, away from the demon beast, but not out of reach for it.

It seemed almost lazy how Wolfwrath shot its fireballs at Kirby, who had more than a little trouble to dodge them. Ultimately he was hit right in the face, the patches gone and revealing the gashes that, although somewhat healed, were still clearly visible.

"Kirby!"

Fumu and Bun couldn't do more than watch, afraid of Dedede actually going through with his threat of shooting them. He was laughing loudly behind them, finding the whole situation absolutely entertaining.

Kirby slowly got back up, already looking worn out, and Wolfwrath sprinted at him, abandoning its long-range attack tactic. Before Kirby had even really noticed, clearly a little disoriented after the hit, Wolfwrath had rammed into him, making him crash to the ground again.

Still Kirby was gripping Galaxia, hadn't let go yet, but he didn't use it. Blood was dripping down his face now, the cuts had opened up again after the last hit, and his look was clearly a little unfocused.

Before Wolfwrath was able to attack again it was attacked from the side - by the Warp Star. It crashed into the wolf, and with a yelp of surprise and pain the wolf in turn crashed to the ground.

Fumu would have used the opportunity to get closer to Kirby; not only was the wolf a little distracted by that surprise attack, but Dedede was also enraged that something had interfered. But seeing as Kirby was out of reach for Dedede and Fumu and Bun were not, she quickly reconsidered. Dedede would take his mood out on them.

"Damnit! Where did that thing come from?" Fumu grimaced when she saw Dedede look in her direction. "That's your fault!"

"We're not gonna let Kirby be defeated!"

It was telling how Bun was the one to shout back. Normally Fumu would be the first to shout at Dedede, but obviously Bun had not realized that Dedede would actually go through with his threat and shouted because he thought it was the same as always.

It wasn't. Kirby also wouldn't be simply defeated, there was much more at stake. If Wolfwrath won Kirby would lose his life, something Fumu was well aware of, but Bun obviously wasn't. Or he just didn't want to think about it; Meta Knight had already died, he had to realize that Kirby's fate could very well end up the same.

Dedede's look darkened after Bun's words. "Ya think it matters what you say? Kirby's already dead; he was dead from the moment this fight began!"

"He's not!"

If possible Dedede's look darkened even more, and Fumu was afraid he would attack them if Bun continued to talk back to him. But he surprised her; his expression changed and he laughed, an unpleasant sound disturbing Fumu deeply. He shouldn't be laughing.

"There's no chance of him winnin' this."

There was a finality to those words that Fumu didn't like. She opened her mouth to disagree, but found herself unable to say anything. With horror she found herself actually _agreeing_ to Dedede's statement, agreeing that there was no chance of winning, agreeing that Kirby was as good as dead.

Fumu didn't even notice how Kirby actually tried to defend himself now, blocked Wolfwrath's claws with Galaxia.

Everything of the last two days came back right then; she had feared it would happen, that she would actually think about what had happened, really _think_ about it.

Of course it all came down to Meta Knight in the end. Many of the things going on were his fault; the demon had attacked because of him and thus in fact _everything_ was his fault in a way. She had almost died, a fact she had pushed to the back of her mind so far, many Waddle Dees had died, chief Borun had died.

Even Fumu realized how Meta Knight couldn't be faulted for the first two cases directly, but it was easier to blame him. Dreamland had been peaceful before he had arrived; only with his arrival had the demon beast attacks started.

He had defeated them, but had lost control of everything in the end; had killed the chief in cold blood, had died in his fight against Wolfwrath. Fumu would never go as far as to say it was what he had deserved, but it felt like everything he had done had led to this one moment where he had lost everything.

And he had known. Both Fumu and Kirby had arrived much too late to interfere with what was going on, or even know what was going on, but they had seen that Meta Knight had not tried to dodge the finishing blow. Why exactly he hadn't even tried, she had no idea. It was too late now anyway; the only one who knew was dead.

"Yes!"

Kirby had managed to injure Wolfwrath at its nose, but Fumu hadn't even noticed how he had defended himself. Her rather depressing thoughts had distracted her from everything going on around her, distracted her even from her fear for Kirby's life.

His last (and likely only) attack had been a success, but even though she had not paid attention, Fumu saw that Kirby was still losing. Kirby's successful attack only incited more furious attacks from Wolfwrath, and although Kirby had been able to defend himself before, it soon became too much for him.

He had to dodge the attacks now, was unable to block them any longer, but he wouldn't be able to keep that up for much longer. The blood he was losing because of the gashes on his face was slowly draining his strength; it was taking its toll now.

Fumu contemplated running to Kirby, trying to distract the wolf again, but Dedede would go through with his threat then, she was quite sure. Even if he didn't, Wolfwrath would. It would have killed her in the village already had it not been for Meta Knight; this time it would certainly kill her.

Meta Knight had saved her. He had called her a fool, why exactly she didn't even know and it hurt when she remembered that those were his final words to her, but he had saved her even after she had told him that she hated him. It didn't change the fact that he had done something terrible when he had killed chief Borun, but as much as Fumu sometimes told herself she really hated Meta Knight, she just couldn't ignore that he had saved her - several times.

Even _if_ he had been evil, he had still cared enough to save her.

Fumu felt sick when she saw Dedede smirk in satisfaction as Kirby was pushed back, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists in frustration. Wasn't there anything she and Bun could do?

The Warp Star, strangely absent after its last attack, picked Kirby up again after he dodged one more attack and carried him out of reach for the claws and teeth at least. Of course Wolfwrath didn't just watch its opponent leave, attacked from a distance instead.

This time the Warp Star wasn't hit, but Kirby circled relatively close to the ground and didn't try to get away. Maybe because he couldn't; Fumu saw him swaying on his Warp Star, about to fall down any moment now.

It took several moments until he actually fell, and Fumu and Bun watched in growing horror when he finally did. He wasn't too far from the ground, but the distance to the ground wasn't what had them extremely worried.

Wolfwrath went closer to Kirby, slowly, as if to savor the moment, and Kirby didn't look like he would be able to escape. His eyes were half-closed, and he had finally let go of Galaxia, certainly involuntary. He struggled to get back up, but to no avail.

"Kirby!" Fumu and Bun ran in Kirby's direction at the same time, disregarding Dedede's threat completely. He didn't care for them now, knew as well as Fumu did that they would never reach Kirby in time, and would not be able to do anything even if they did.

Wolfwrath had reached Kirby now, made ready to pierce him with its claws, just as it had done to Meta Knight. Fumu and Bun tried their utmost to reach them in time, to somehow interfere with what was about to happen, but were still too far away.

This couldn't be happening; not so soon after Meta Knight's death the next death! Kirby couldn't die, there was no way!

"Kirby!"

They hadn't even covered half the distance when Wolfwrath decided it had waited long enough.


	21. Who I Am

**A/N: **Two things at the beginning; one: there is a slight change of style, you probably wouldn't have noticed without me pointing it out, though. Two: pretend the (lack of) explanation in this chapter makes sense. ;)

* * *

**21. Who I Am**

Fumu couldn't afford to panic, but even in her panic she still realized that even if she was absolutely calm, there was nothing she could do. Time seemed to freeze as Wolfwrath's claws came closer to Kirby's face, and although Fumu knew she was still moving in the wolf's direction, she didn't seem to get any closer.

Kirby had paled considerably, from blood loss or fear Fumu couldn't tell, but although he had struggled to get back up again earlier, there was now nothing of that left. He had resigned himself to his fate.

Wolfwrath had almost reached its goal of killing Kirby, when it suddenly collapsed to the ground, howling in pain. Fumu almost didn't register that fact; her only concern was reaching Kirby.

She ran until she had reached him, Wolfwrath writhing in pain on the ground almost forgotten. "Kirby! Say something!" she demanded, her voice full of fear.

"Fumu... Bun..." he said weakly, but at least he was still alive. Wolfwrath hadn't hit him yet, he had not suffered another injury! Endless relief washed over Fumu, and only then did she wonder what had happened.

Wolfwrath stood again, had backed off, howling in pain. Blood was trailing down the right side of its face, and Fumu saw that it had been hit in the eye by something small. Taking a closer look, oddly enough not even repulsed by the sight at the moment, she saw what it was, yet that was absolutely impossible.

The only two people to use that kind of weapon were gone, had left, and neither would have hit Wolfwrath. She didn't think Yamikage would throw a shuriken at an ally and Benikage wouldn't be able to hit that accurately.

"Who-?"

But it didn't matter much _who_ had saved Kirby, the fact remained that he had been saved. At least that was her first thought. Then she turned around and saw who had saved Kirby.

She forgot to breathe for a moment; couldn't believe her eyes. Impossible!

"No... You are-"

* * *

Customer Service had not followed his orders. Nightmare knew he hadn't, had waited to send Wolfwrath to Dreamland again. He had waited half a day, valuable time that had been lost.

Half a day could make all the difference needed for Kirby to end up victorious; after all he healed faster than Wolfwrath did.

It was a reason for concern that Customer Service had disobeyed him, a serious reason even; he had never disobeyed any order before. Some kind of punishment was needed, but Nightmare found himself limited in that regard.

Death was the punishment for lowly demon beasts in many cases, yet Customer Service was way out of their league. He was too valuable for Nightmare to kill or even injure him, and Customer Service would be aware of that fact as well.

Still, some punishment would be in order.

Physical punishment would be impossible, but there was something else Nightmare could do.

None of his demon beasts would recognize it as anything resembling a punishment; Customer Service would understand it perfectly.

"You wanted to see me, master?"

Impressive, he hadn't hesitated before adding the 'master' to his question. Knuckle Joe stood in front of him, appearing as the new submissive employee, afraid of the great Nightmare.

Nightmare knew it was an act, was absolutely sure of it, but was amused how he tried so hard to play his role. It was perfect, there was no indication that he was anything but honest in his desire to serve Nightmare, but Nightmare was well aware of the fact that Knuckle Joe was the son of one of Meta Knight's former "friends" and had met him some time ago.

Customer Service had briefly turned Joe into a demon beast, but he had lost that power again. Maybe that was why Customer Service deemed it necessary to inform Nightmare of Joe's presence, but Nightmare knew all those things without being told.

He didn't know everything that was going on around him, but this hadn't escaped his notice. It was perfect as a test and a punishment.

"Yes," Nightmare paused, waiting for Knuckle Joe to show some reaction. There was none while he kept bowing. "I have a task for you." Silence.

"I want you to _help_ Customer Service," Nightmare said, grinning slightly as he saw Knuckle Joe twitching. Good, he had caught the meaning, or at least had realized that there was some other meaning to his words.

"... What would you like me to do?" he asked hesitantly, his eyes never leaving the ground.

"You are to help him with his duties. Report _everything_ he does directly to me."

He shifted uncomfortably. Now, would he go as far as to give Nightmare the information he wanted, even if it was only about his own subordinate? Nightmare smirked inwardly as he saw the brief conflict in Knuckle Joe of giving Nightmare _any_ information that might prove useful to him.

"Of course, master," he replied, but didn't dare look up.

Nightmare didn't need him to. Knuckle Joe had chosen to stay alive a little while longer, decided to play in Nightmare's game and do everything to keep playing. Nightmare didn't know what his ultimate goal was, but with Meta Knight and soon Kirby dead, there was nothing someone like Knuckle Joe could do.

It would only entertain Nightmare until he had no further use for his newest employee.

* * *

Bun beside her sounded like he was seriously suffocating on the last breath of air he had taken. Fumu would have sounded just like that if she had taken a breath of air in the last few moments, but she had forgotten. Some part in her brain told her she needed to breathe, though, and she did. Only to exhale and take another breath and try to calm down - to no avail.

This was impossible!

She would have liked to shout, demand answers, _cry_, but at the moment she could do none of those things. He couldn't be alive! And yet he was, completely unharmed even.

Meta Knight's piercing look was directed at them, but he didn't say a word. There was no blood, there were no injuries; he looked like he had at the very beginning. Only now Fumu wasn't curious but scared.

Kirby looked dazed and didn't even try to get back to his feet, chose to stay on the ground, but he had recognized who had saved him. "Me...ta."

Fumu thought she saw something in Meta Knight's eyes for only a moment, but it was instantly gone, making her wonder if she had only imagined it.

"Why?"

Fumu found her voice again, and it was the only question she could think of. She didn't even know what exactly she wanted to know; why had he killed Chief Borun? Why was he still alive? Why was he here? It didn't matter; nothing of that mattered right now.

"Because this is who I am."

There was regret, Fumu could tell. Why exactly she didn't know, but it was gone with his next words, replaced by the coldness he had used before. Yesterday, she reminded herself.

"Don't get in my way," he said, coldness and slight anger in his voice.

He didn't care. He didn't care for them at all. The same words he had used in the village after he had killed Chief Borun; he had used the _exact_ same words now. It was another hard blow from him, and Fumu wasn't even sure if he realized it or not.

Without taking a closer look at them he walked past them, picking Galaxia up from the ground. He held it in his right hand, the katana he had taken from Yamikage in his left. Fumu only noticed how he had been holding it the whole time already then.

Wolfwrath had been trying to get rid of the shuriken Meta Knight had thrown at it, yet had only managed to injure itself further in the process. The shuriken was gone now, and so was its eye. Blood was steadily pouring out of the wound, and the wolf seemed absolutely enraged but also in immense pain.

Meta Knight didn't wait for his opponent to ready itself; in only a split second he was directly in front of Wolfwrath, slashing with both weapons at its face.

It had the presence of mind to get away as soon as it had noticed Meta Knight had disappeared from its view, and it was the only thing that kept it alive. Meta Knight would have severed its head, had it not jumped to the side.

"Hn."

He had nothing much to say to the situation, was much calmer than he had been last time. He was the only one.

"Sis... How is he...?" Bun began his question, yet never finished his sentence. Fumu was almost sure that he wanted to end the question with 'alive'; unfortunately she had no idea either, was much too shocked for the moment to even think about it.

"I don't know..."

But for the moment it really didn't matter. Thanks to Meta Knight Kirby was at least alive, and Wolfwrath didn't look like it had a real chance of winning. Meta Knight pressed his obvious advantage mercilessly, but didn't lose himself in rage like he had done last time. He was calmly pursuing Wolfwrath, which had opted to dodge attacks instead of fighting back.

Meta Knight would win the fight if it continued like this.

"Careful, Kirby!"

Bun's shout alerted her to the fact that Kirby was not doing what would be best now. Instead of staying on the ground and moving as little as possible, he tried to stand up, but failed at that.

The blood from the gashes was running down his whole face by now; it was much worse than it had been only yesterday. Not only had the wounds opened up again, he had been further injured by Wolfwrath's earlier attacks.

"Please stop, Kirby!"

He still struggled, tried to get up, but in the end had to admit defeat. He wasn't about to get up again, not by himself at least, and Fumu didn't intend to move him at all right now. Kirby had moved so that he was able to see what Meta Knight did now, though.

He was on the defense now as Wolfwrath had taken to spitting its fireballs at him, and to Fumu's surprise he wasn't dodging them, nor was he blocking them. He cut through them. Meta Knight hadn't done that before, but it seemed absolutely effortless and Wolfwrath and Dedede (whom she had totally forgotten) were just as surprised as she was.

Meta Knight himself ignored them and their reactions, jumped at Wolfwrath and slashed over its chest with Galaxia, the katana barely missing as Wolfwrath retreated after his first attack. Fumu was sure the hit would be more than enough; dark blood was spilling from the wound, soaking the wolf's already red fur a darker red.

With all the other injuries it had suffered at some point there was no way it would survive this day. It was still snarling in anger, but its pain was obvious. And even if that hadn't been the case, all the blood flowing down its face and chest was a dead giveaway.

In desperation it jumped at Meta Knight, who dodged to the side and cut it with both his weapons this time. The demon beast howled in pain and collapsed to the ground after a few more steps, writhing in pain.

Dedede, thankfully some distance away from all of them, seemed really enraged by that fact and shouted at the wolf to get back up. It did after some struggling, but not before shooting Dedede a hateful glare. The next glare was reserved for Meta Knight, who seemed rather unconcerned by that, though.

Fumu shuddered; they were about to end it, she knew. Meta Knight and Wolfwrath charged at each other, causing gasps among their spectators.

The end result was absolutely unexpected for Fumu and most likely everyone else as well. Meta Knight had missed, completely. He had ended up hampering his own attack with the fact that he had used both Galaxia and the katana.

Obviously he had not considered how those two weapons were definitely not the same in weight and were handled differently. Fumu hadn't paid too much attention to the fact that Meta Knight had only hit Wolfwrath two times (not counting the shuriken) before, but now it was obvious that that had happened because he hadn't been able to use the fact that he was fighting with two weapons effectively.

The price he had to pay for that was Wolfwrath biting down on his left arm.

"Sh-!"

He had been uncaring before, almost calm; this was too much even for him. From his curses it was clear that he was in pain and also angry, at himself for acting stupid or at Wolfwrath for landing a painful hit Fumu didn't know, though.

With his left arm trapped and the katana unusable Meta Knight still had Galaxia, and although his position made it a little hard for him to attack, he managed and slashed Galaxia all over Wolfwrath's throat.

The wolf's blood rained down on him as it let go, stumbled back and made a gurgling sound. It spit blood, but refused to fall to the ground; didn't give up even as close to death as it obviously was.

In a last-ditch attempt it jumped at Meta Knight again, trying to at least take him with it. Meta Knight ducked under its attack and stabbed upwards with Galaxia when it was right above him, throwing away the katana at the same time, but forgot about the fact that like this Wolfwrath would come crashing down on him.

He barely managed to get away in time as the demon beast collapsed to the ground, still alive but beyond any help by now.

"How persistent."

Meta Knight seemed almost bored as he approached the fallen demon beast, casually pushing his cape away as it touched his blood-stained left arm. When he was directly in front of it he raised Galaxia above his head, and before anyone could stop him brought it down on Wolfwrath's neck.

Blood splattered as the sword cut through its flesh, some of it hitting Meta Knight as he decapitated Wolfwrath. The body went completely limp, became motionless, blood all the while soaking the grass.

And it didn't disappear; its dead body lying for all to see.

Grim silence prevailed; Fumu taking the whole situation in with worry. Wolfwrath was dead, everyone else alive, but what would happen now?

With his back turned to them Fumu couldn't tell Meta Knight's thoughts or even mood, but he soon turned in their direction, walked closer to them after picking up the katana again.

There was blood, not just running down his arm, but also on his mask. His eyes had their normal color, had not turned red while he had fought Wolfwrath as far as Fumu could tell, but they were slightly narrowed as he approached them.

Fumu unwittingly tensed and completely ignored those around her, focusing completely on Meta Knight. What was he going to do?

Meta Knight wasn't doing much at all, but his look was completely unsettling Fumu. Bun and Kirby weren't quite as intimidated, and Bun was the first to ask what everyone present had wanted to know since Meta Knight had reappeared.

"How are you alive? Fumu said that you'd..." Bun didn't end that sentence, aware how Meta Knight obviously wasn't dead.

"Did she?" His look turned to Fumu. The pause after that was obvious, like he was thinking about what to say. "I am alive."

He made it quite clear that he wasn't going to talk about the how now, or ever for that matter. Fumu wasn't even sure if she would dare ask later.

Kirby's groan of pain eventually distracted her from Meta Knight. His injuries weren't life-threatening (not yet at least), but he needed help. The only people to go to were Doctor Yabui in the village and Escargon in the castle, but the castle was closer and Doctor Yabui and everyone else would have other problems.

Besides, Meta Knight also looked like he could need some medical attention, and going to the village with him was the last thing Fumu would do. Escargon would certainly be shocked, but everyone else's reaction would be much worse. The only one stopping them from going to the castle now was Dedede.

He had first had to process the fact that the demon beast had been killed - by the one he had thought had been killed by it. Fumu had not paid much attention to Dedede in the last few minutes, but it was clear that he hadn't taken everything that was going on too well.

His face was contorted in anger, rage even, and Fumu knew that he was about to do something incredibly stupid. Like shoot at them with his tank.

The first three shots missed them by a few meters still; the fourth would have hit them had it not been for Meta Knight. With the two weapons he had sheathed after killing Wolfwrath he somehow deflected the projectile, keeping all people uninjured - other than himself.

With a hiss of pain he let go of the katana, dropped it to the ground. Flexing his arm seemed to be just as painful, for when he did there was another hiss.

"Are you okay, Meta Knight?"

"Of course I am. There was _no_ reason for me to hiss in pain." The biting sarcasm was certainly unexpected.

Fumu had expected Meta Knight to completely ignore her question or tell her a simple yes, but once again he had proven to be unpredictable. There had been less sarcasm from him in recent conversations and Fumu had taken it as a sign of him changing. His sarcasm had been more and more replaced by indifference on his part, but _this_ was hard to ignore. Was he more like the Meta Knight from around three months ago?

Those three months ago Fumu would have reacted with anger or sarcasm herself, now she was at a loss. She had opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying a word.

If Meta Knight had wanted to say something more he was distracted by Dedede again. Fumu had no idea how many shots Dedede had still left, but didn't exactly want to know either.

His next shot was intercepted by a Sword Beam from Meta Knight, causing an explosion still some distance away from them. Another, bigger, Sword Beam followed and Dedede did the right thing then. He jumped away.

The tank was to Fumu's surprise not utterly destroyed, but it was obvious how Dedede wouldn't be shooting with it again. Or drive with it.

He frowned at the tank and then at Meta Knight, apparently really displeased by this turn of events. Attacking from a distance was now impossible for him, and everyone wondered if he would engage Meta Knight directly in combat.

He had the advantage of Meta Knight being injured and certainly at least somewhat exhausted after fighting Wolfwrath, but Fumu still judged Dedede's chances of winning at about zero. Maybe a little higher, not much though.

"You're gonna pay for that!"

There was definitely rage on Dedede's face as he got his mallet and made a threatening motion in Meta Knight's direction, who didn't seem concerned by that.

He hadn't even bothered to pick the katana back up, though Fumu had the suspicion that he couldn't. She saw his arm tremble slightly, indicating that there was a little more damage than she had initially thought, but he hid it rather well overall and she doubted the others had noticed.

"Don't fight me. You are going to die."

Meta Knight didn't have to raise his voice for everyone to hear him. He was obviously being serious, but Dedede either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Ha! With only one arm ya won't defeat me!"

Fumu had always thought that stupidity would be Dedede's downfall, and while it was certainly much stupidity on his part, it was even more arrogance. Not that it made that much of a difference in the end, after all Meta Knight was just as arrogant if not even more so, and the reasons for Dedede's untimely death wouldn't be too important. But it was certainly astounding how both of them displayed the arrogance to say that the other would lose.

"Don't tempt me to prove you wrong," was Meta Knight's answer, his voice sending a shiver down Fumu's spine.

It was a threat, one even Dedede understood. Still, it didn't stop him from charging head-on at Meta Knight with a cry.

He was much faster than any of them had expected even, and Meta Knight seemed at least a little surprised. Meta Knight blocked the first strike with Galaxia, or at least tried to.

Fumu saw his eyes widen slightly in surprise before he gave up on his attempt to block the attack right after it had connected with his own weapon. He jumped back and out of reach; where he had been only a moment ago was now a crater, caused by the force of Dedede's strike.

He had only used one hand to swing his mallet even.

"How-?" Bun asked incredulously, his tone of voice portraying perfectly what Fumu felt as well. How had Dedede been able to use an attack that strong?

Dedede was well aware of the incredulous stares he was receiving. He smirked in satisfaction, resting his mallet on his shoulder, ready to use it again.

"Told ya!"

Meta Knight shifted slightly, now in a protective stance. "Nightmare," he said, as if that one word would explain everything.

Dedede's smirk only widened and Fumu's initial confusion soon made way for understanding. _No_...

"What did you _do_?"

Dedede chuckled in amusement as he turned his attention to her, and now Fumu knew that she hadn't just imagined that there was something in his eyes. In a way he looked almost crazed, much like Meta Knight had the day before.

"What, you ask? The best thing I ever did!" He laughed loudly, but it subsided soon and was replaced by a contemplative expression. "Customer Service got even more unbearable... but who cares!" Dedede resumed his laughing.

Fumu took a look around; noted Bun's confusion, the fact that Kirby seemed to know what was going on and the fact that Meta Knight was unusually tense. She herself had a pretty good idea of what had happened, but would very much like her suspicions to be wrong.

"Sis... what happened to him?"

Before Fumu could answer, Dedede did it himself.

"You don't get it, do ya? Then I'll make it easy to understand: I'm stronger than Meta Knight. I got incredible power from Nightmare now. No idea how Meta Knight survived, but I'm totally gonna kill him now!"

He didn't waste any time after that. Dedede attacked Meta Knight again, the rage obvious in his movements; the attacks much faster than Fumu would have thought possible from Dedede.

Meta Knight for his part had not commented on the things Dedede had said, a fact that was surprising enough already. What was even more surprising was the fact that he was losing, or at the very least not winning against Dedede.

Dedede's strength and speed had increased tremendously; Meta Knight was still faster and dodged the attacks, he obviously wasn't strong enough to block them, however. Or maybe he was just more exhausted than Fumu had first thought.

"Ugh..."

Then he was hit in the face after being unable to block one attack completely and stumbled back; Dedede rather than attacking again enjoying his moment of temporary success. He cackled madly, the feeling of triumph almost overwhelming him after all the setbacks he had had to suffer.

Meta Knight caught himself, and although he looked somewhat dazed, he used the time Dedede had given him. With a distance of a few meters Fumu would have thought Meta Knight's Sword Beam would instantly kill Dedede, but nothing of the sort happened.

Instead Dedede countered with an attack that looked somewhat similar to Meta Knight's own, but of course couldn't be called a Sword Beam. A dark sort of energy appeared around Dedede's mallet, and when he swung it at Meta Knight's Sword Beam, it was instantly destroyed.

"Eh?"

Bun's exclamation of surprise was enough to distract Fumu for a moment, and with surprise of her own she noted how Meta Knight had used the time to get away from Dedede, closer to them.

Of course she couldn't tell his expression, but he was apparently far from pleased with the situation and more exhausted than he had let on. With blood still freely running down his arm and panting noticeably, it was quite clear to Fumu that this wouldn't end well.

"Meta Knight, stop this!"

"Poyo..."

Meta Knight himself didn't react, leaving Dedede to answer Fumu's demand.

"Ahaha! Listen to her. You've lost anyway; ya might as well give up already!" His laughing grated on her ears, but Fumu knew she would do well to ignore it and keep out of Dedede's way right now.

Meta Knight's grip on Galaxia tightened for a moment, then it went back to normal again. He sighed audibly.

"I didn't want to do this, but unfortunately I have little other choice." He laughed, bitter. "And to think I... _sacrificed_ that power to stay alive, only to use it again now, not even a day later. That is certainly irony of fate."

His words didn't make any sense, left only confusion.

"This is the last warning you get: if you keep fighting me, you are going to die."

Dumbfounded silence prevailed after these words. Meta Knight's arrogance seemed to know no bounds, for it had been obvious to all people present how he had been the one losing. Dedede's reaction of disbelief and consequently laughing after a few seconds was very much understandable with this fact in mind.

"I'm gonna die? Don't make me laugh! You're the one who's gonna die!" Dedede charged, and Meta Knight sighed again.

"And thus it ends."

Dedede's attack hit only thin air, Meta Knight having disappeared. Fumu had seen him wrap his cape around himself, answering at least the mystery of how he had been able to disappear at will before.

He reappeared behind Dedede again and didn't think twice about attacking. Dedede whirled around with incredible speed, somewhere between blocking and attacking at the same time, and his surprise was hard to miss as he was unable to overpower Meta Knight.

"What the-?"

With a grunt of effort Dedede pushed harder, but Meta Knight didn't budge although he only held Galaxia in his right hand. Dedede's face contorted with exertion as he pushed with all his might, and finally Meta Knight had to push back harder himself to not be overpowered.

Their power struggle ended with Meta Knight redirecting Dedede's attack to one side and making him stumble forward. He was unable to react fast enough to block Meta Knight's next strike; a bloody cut on his right arm the reward for that.

"You!"

In rage Dedede attacked again, the attacks easily sidestepped by Meta Knight now, though.

That was probably a good thing; if Fumu had to choose between Meta Knight and Dedede she would still choose Meta Knight. Even though his eyes were burning an ominous red again.

It had always been frightening to see him like this, now all the more so when she remembered the last time Fumu had seen him like this. But it wasn't like last time.

His cruel amusement at the situation right now was obvious and hard to miss, and even if Fumu didn't understand it, it wasn't like it had been in the village only yesterday. He had completely lost it then, had thrown away all reason, but now... She couldn't be sure how far Meta Knight would go, but he seemed more controlled than last time.

"It is over now. Realize the hopelessness of your situation."

Dedede didn't.

"Over you say? Don't mock me! It's over when ya lie dead on the ground!"

Fumu felt Kirby and Bun tense, just like her waiting with bated breaths for what was going to happen. They didn't have to wait long; that black energy surrounded Dedede's weapon again, and he charged, directly at Meta Knight.

Had they expected Meta Knight to block or sidestep again, they all were disappointed in that regard. Instead he did... what Dedede did. Exactly the same thing even, his weapon also surrounded with black energy.

Their clash - if it could be called that - didn't go like Meta Knight's clash with Wolfwrath had gone. This time Meta Knight wasn't hit, but Dedede was.

Dedede himself seemed surprised when he realized how he was the one injured and there was blood spraying from a wound that stretched from right under his left shoulder over the left side of his chest and stomach.

His eyes were widened as he fell and barely managed to catch himself with his mallet, keeping himself from falling completely to the ground. His own blood was soaking his clothes as he was gasping for breath, and Meta Knight slowly approached him from behind.

"Even being turned into a demon beast wasn't enough for you to defeat me in the end. It is over; your life ends now at the hands of the one you sought to kill."

Dedede had slightly turned in Meta Knight's direction, the rage in his eyes now overshadowed by the despair he felt at the prospect of being killed.

Meta Knight approached at a steady but slow pace, his eyes glinting maliciously, Galaxia surrounded by the ominous dark energy again.

Fumu, Kirby and Bun had all three been silently watching, too afraid or in Kirby's case injured to actually interfere. But they couldn't... Meta Knight was going to kill Dedede, and although he had said that the king had been turned into a demon beast, he was still _Dedede_. The stupid king of Dreamland who caused more harm than good, but was still their king.

Meta Knight sprinted the last few meters, and Fumu saw Dedede's eyes widen in fear.

"Don't kill him!"

She knew she was too late; Meta Knight's strike at Dedede's head was already in motion, and it would be impossible for him to stop now.

Dedede collapsed to the ground after Galaxia had been smashed into the side of his head, but the fountain of blood Fumu had expected never came. Meta Knight turned in their direction, focusing his crimson gaze directly at Fumu, and there was something like confusion in his eyes.

He had used the hilt; Dedede was still alive.

* * *

**A/N:** Now several things: Way back in chapter 13 I predicted that my time to write would be cut short. It was; then I got injured and was unable to do any sports for several months. I didn't need to mention that, because it only affected this story in a positive way.

Now this time of "suffering" is coming to a close, and guess what? Yes, unless I injure myself again that will cut my time short - shorter than you might think.

That in itself wouldn't be of much concern for you yet, after all I only add a chapter a month anyway, and that is probably still manageable. However, for the time being I won't really work on this, not following chapters at least. Right now my focus shifted to earlier chapters, for several reasons.

I don't like them much, and thus I will change them. I also have to change something early on; call it cheating on my part if you like, but that's how it is. ;) In fact I already changed chapters 1 and 2 completely; to say I merely edited them would be a lie. I believe chapter 2 didn't even keep one sentence of the previous version...

On that note there might be some contradictions now, and I'll hopefully get around to fixing that. Edited chapters overrule everything else I say later.

I am not sure how much this decision will affect future chapters (and with that I mean how much time I'll need to put a new chapter up), but there _might_ be no effect at all. If there is you at least know the reason. Feel free to try and change my mind...


	22. Already Over

**A/N: **I am back, with a firework of random happenings in this chapter. Well, not quite random.

Two month delay, didn't have that in a while. I won't promise that it won't happen again, though. For that I just have too many other time consuming things going on in my free time. Really time consuming things that is...

* * *

**22. Already Over**

When Fumu had first met Meta Knight she had never thought something like this would ever happen. She remembered how he had punched Dedede on the first day already, remembered how he had stated several times that they hated each other, and of course remembered how Dedede had sent several demon beasts to kill Meta Knight.

Yet it had always seemed impossible for Meta Knight to die; even more so for Dedede, because he had almost never been directly involved in any fights. But Dedede would have been dead right now, had Meta Knight not actually listened to Fumu.

Fumu felt absolutely drained, would like nothing more than to go to bed and cry herself to sleep, but realized that there were just too many problems right now. Kirby and Dedede were bleeding badly, and while she didn't know the exact extent of Dedede's injuries, Kirby at least wasn't looking too good.

Those were the problems anyone could tell just with looking at the scene, but Fumu was inclined to think that those weren't even the major problems yet. The major problem now was Meta Knight, the simple fact that he was alive even, when Fumu was actually relatively sure that it was impossible to survive the injuries he had suffered. Even if it was possible, they were _gone_ now.

She realized how that was not important _right now_, but at some point it would be and Fumu wasn't sure if she would actually dare to ask any questions.

Meta Knight was looking at her, what she interpreted to be confusion in his crimson gaze. She turned away, looked at Kirby instead, who had become even paler than before. Bun didn't look much better, had gone almost as pale.

Fumu wouldn't blame him; there had been much blood lost and one demon beast had been killed, quite brutally at that. Fumu herself felt oddly detached from everything. Everything that had happened in the last few days was terrible and she did feel like crying, yet it seemed funny in a strange way.

Funny how everything was falling apart.

"Meta Knight."

He slowly came over, Galaxia sheathed, his eyes still burning red. The confusion had given way to the lack of emotion Fumu had actually expected when he had first reappeared.

"What is it?"

His tone was emotionless, but Fumu knew it was an act. She didn't know what exactly he was feeling, but it was not the indifference he pretended to feel right now.

It was the same with Fumu herself. She wore a mask of indifference for the world to see right now, but she knew as well as Meta Knight did that it could crack any moment and would leave her crying her eyes out. Whatever happened, _that_ just couldn't happen. Someone had to be responsible right now, and Meta Knight would only do it if she forced him. One way or another.

"Help me get them to the castle," she said, voice as emotionless as she could manage.

Fumu saw him narrow his eyes slightly, clenching his right hand to a fist, but then he relaxed. "I do not take orders, Fumu."

She realized how he wasn't refusing to help her this time, simply stated a fact. But even if he was going to help her, there was still one serious problem.

"What about Dedede?" she heard Bun ask, voice shaking.

Meta Knight took a brief look at Dedede, then looked back at them. "What about him?" he asked coldly, uncaring.

Fumu pressed her lips firmly together for a moment before answering.

"Why did you leave him alive?" It wasn't what she had actually wanted to ask, but it was as good as any question about Dedede right now. And Meta Knight hesitated, the confusion Fumu had seen earlier in his eyes back for a moment.

When he answered, it was with even less emotion than before if that was possible. Alone that fact told her more than enough.

"Because you told me to," was his answer, and it was obvious to Fumu how he hated to admit that, but she had guessed it anyway and he knew it.

Fumu closed her eyes briefly, then looked directly into Meta Knight's terrible red eyes. "How are we going to get them to the castle? You are also injured, can you manage?"

"I-" Fumu saw Meta Knight's eyes widen slightly before she found herself on the ground with Meta Knight's blood all over her clothes because he had used both his arms when he had jumped away with her.

What it was that had him jump away made Fumu's blood freeze as she took a look. Dedede was looking like he was already dead with all the blood soaking his clothes and spilling from his lips, but there was a crazed look in his eyes as he stumbled closer to them.

"Meta Knight... I'm gonna kill you!" He wildly swung his mallet at Meta Knight, who had drawn Galaxia again and dodged the aimless attacks.

Dedede was going berserk with no regard for aiming, his own safety or other people, and he didn't seem to notice as Meta Knight cut deeply into his left arm. With Meta Knight out of his direct line of sight Dedede went for the closest person.

Fumu shrieked and Bun shouted something as Dedede came at her with a roar of rage, and she froze in terror. Her mind told her to run away, but her feet wouldn't obey her. Dedede raised his mallet high above his head - how he did with both his arms injured was a mystery to Fumu - and in reflex she closed her eyes.

The expected pain didn't come even after a few seconds, and when she opened her eyes again, she knew exactly why.

Dedede was looking down, an expression of utter surprise on his face. The mallet had slipped from his fingers and lay on the ground, but the only thing Fumu was really able to look at was the sword piercing through Dedede's chest.

It was Galaxia, no doubt about that, and Dedede realized it as well. The crazed look was gone from his eyes as the blood spilled from his lips, replaced by something akin to regret.

"I..."

Meta Knight pulled Galaxia back out and Dedede collapsed to the ground, unmoving. Fumu couldn't avert her eyes from the scene; the mortal wound, all the blood staining the once green grass. Distantly she heard Bun shout something, but didn't understand a word.

She would have looked down on Dedede's dead body for much time to follow had Meta Knight not led her away. Fumu didn't protest when he dragged her along all but gently, but that wasn't important now anyway.

"Fumu."

She distantly noticed that he was calling her name, but ignored it. She still saw the blood spilling from Dedede's lips, spilling from Chief Borun's lips, Meta Knight falling into the river...

"Fumu!" he shouted now, and she looked at Meta Knight in shock after he had slapped her. He was angry, and Fumu shrank back slightly when she saw it. "Succumb to grief later! Now we don't have the time!"

Succumb... to grief? Fumu realized how he was correct with what he said, but she found it hard to let go of all the pictures of death in her mind. Until Meta Knight turned her attention to Kirby.

He had closed his eyes by now, was probably unconscious. "We have to hurry!"

"Yes. I will take care of Kirby. Come along."

Fumu couldn't help but feel bad about the fact that they left Dedede. He was dead and beyond any help, but to just leave him...

But they had enough problems as it was. Meta Knight carried Kirby, though it was obvious that he was exhausted. Although his eyes were still red, and Fumu even suspected they would stay like this, their color had dulled slightly. He wasn't using his left arm either, blood still spilling from the bite wounds Wolfwrath had left.

Bun was uninjured and frantically asking Fumu if she was alright. She wasn't sure who was taking the situation harder; Bun who was about to panic completely or she herself with her lack of reaction.

Their walk to the castle wasn't any less depressing than Fumu's and Kirby's walk the day before had been. Bun had stopped talking, assured that Fumu was alright, Kirby couldn't talk right now, and Fumu and Meta Knight were both more than happy to keep their silence.

Fumu realized how going to their home was probably not the best idea when they needed Escargon, but she couldn't help the fact that this was where they had ended up. Someone would have to fetch Escargon.

The feeling of déjà vu was strong as Fumu entered, had the situation not been almost exactly the same just yesterday? Only this time their return hadn't been expected and their parents hadn't worried for them. Not as much as yesterday at least.

"Fumu! Bun!"

Their parents rushed at them as soon as they saw them, not even realizing how Kirby and Meta Knight were behind them and injured.

"Are you alright? There's blood! You're bleeding!" Distantly Fumu remembered that yes, there was blood on her clothes, but no it wasn't hers.

"It's not mine... It's Meta Knight's..."

Only then did her parents actually notice that Meta Knight and Kirby were also present. Her mother looked about to faint when she saw them, though why exactly Fumu couldn't tell. Maybe because of the blood, maybe because Fumu had told them just yesterday how Meta Knight had died.

"Can someone get Escargon?" she asked before anyone else had the time to say anything, aware how that would take priority now.

"We're going."

Fumu hadn't even noticed Lololo and Lalala, but was grateful for their prompt reply. They left their home at once and with that also left the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Fumu." Turning to Meta Knight she saw him look around a little unsurely. He was still carrying Kirby, and Fumu realized what he wanted from her at once.

"We better have him lie down for the time being..." Fumu's gaze went to the sofa, and Meta Knight approached it, laying Kirby down almost gently, everyone following with their eyes as he did.

The blood on Fumu's clothes had been her parents' first concern, but by now they had realized that there was also something definitely wrong with Bun. Not that Fumu was completely alright, she at least talked, though.

"Bun? Are you alright?"

He didn't answer for several seconds, just staring at the ground. Then he lifted his head, struggling with an answer for some more seconds, a stark contrast to his almost panic some minutes ago.

"Yeah..." he mumbled, not exactly convincing anyone with that response.

But for the moment it was enough for their parents. There were just too many things wrong at the moment, and just like Fumu they couldn't decide what was worst of all.

"I sure hope Escargon hurries, Kirby doesn't look good... What happened to him?"

It was obvious to Fumu how her father desperately tried not to ask anything about Meta Knight. The only person to ask something about that left was Kirby, in terms of injuries certainly he was worst, but Fumu was hesitant to tell the whole story.

The small detail of Dedede's death... Just thinking about it made her feel sick, and like her stomach was turned upside down. No one noticed her brief inner turmoil (at least she hoped no one did), and she resolved to not be the one to tell of Dedede's fate. The short version of events had to suffice for now.

"Wolfwrath defeated him... But Meta Knight killed it after that," Fumu said while she looked directly into Meta Knight's eyes, begging him to say how he had killed Dedede or not say anything at all, she wasn't sure. Meta Knight chose to stay silent, and they all fell into an uncomfortable silence.

While her parents tried their best to ignore Meta Knight's presence, certainly remembering what Fumu had told them about him, and focused their attention mostly on Bun, Fumu felt it increasingly hard to ignore him.

He didn't do anything to draw her attention to him, but after believing him dead she couldn't help but look at him. His whole left arm was bloodstained, drops of blood threatening to fall to the ground and leave stains on the carpet. Fumu got the feeling Meta Knight was trying his best to keep his blood from falling, at the same time trying not to move. It seemed a futile attempt, yet so far he had only stained his own cape, although Fumu had not seen his arm touch it in the last few minutes.

Meta Knight noticed her staring and looked back, his terrible red eyes clashing with Fumu's green ones. They had not changed back to his normal eye color, and a feeling of dread took over for a moment. Horrible things were going to happen still, Fumu just knew it, and Meta Knight's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, just as if he had had the same feeling right then.

Further musings were interrupted by Escargon's arrival. He had obviously really hurried if his panting was any indication.

Escargon entered, closely followed by Lololo and Lalala, but stopped dead when he spotted Meta Knight.

"Wha-?"

"Hello to you too, Escargon," Meta Knight responded in the same bored voice he had used the day before to answer Fumu. Escargon opened and closed his mouth without making a sound, just staring at Meta Knight for a moment. Then he decided to ignore it.

"Kirby is injured?" he turned away and immediately spotted Kirby on the sofa, prioritizing him over Meta Knight's sudden reappearance.

Definitely a plus in Fumu's opinion; Escargon was much more helpful than she had ever imagined.

* * *

Joe was _so_ screwed.

Joe knew it, Nightmare knew it, and Joe could only hope that Customer Service _didn't_ know it. Of course Customer Service was not oblivious enough not to notice how Joe was paying close attention to everything he did, but Joe could still hope that Customer Service hadn't figured out the why yet.

Chances for that weren't too high, and even if for some reason he had reached the wrong conclusion, _that_ would probably be even worse.

And this whole mess only because he had tried to draw out Masher. Now he still didn't know about that, had met Nightmare and had to freaking report every little thing Customer Service did to him!

If he wasn't screwed then who was?

At least Customer Service didn't do anything suspicious, though. Not that Joe had really expected that, but reporting suspicious things to Nightmare was certainly not how he imagined a good day. In fact that would probably end as a really bad day. Not necessarily for him, but who knew with Nightmare?

"Oi, you there! Stop doin' that!"

There was something positive about his new job at least; he had the authority to order demon beasts around now. Not just the small pathetic ones even, but almost _all_ demon beasts. Granted, the ones he was trying to get to form a line now were not exactly strong and Joe would have no trouble defeating them anyway, but it was a nice feeling to know that he could also order the other, stronger ones around.

Now his only concern was finding Masher and finding a way to get rid of it. He would have to think of something to draw it out, and until then he had to be careful.

"Smash Punch!" One less demon beast to annoy him. "I told you to stop that! Now, the rest of you better listen to what I have to say, or you're goin' to end up the same!"

The others hurriedly went to obey his earlier command and tried to look inconspicuous, most of them failing spectacularly at that.

Joe sighed in annoyance. Seriously, it was no wonder why no one had obviously ever tried to get these pathetically weak monsters to form a line. When Nightmare had distributed intelligence these before him had apparently been left out.

He stared at them for some time, and most of them stared back. Most, not all. Two were getting into a fight right before his eyes, and with his patience already run out they suffered the same fate the demon beast from before had.

"Get lost, all of you!" Joe shouted, too irritated now to bother any longer with them.

He didn't have to tell them twice. That order all of them followed as quickly as possible, frustrating Joe even more.

It also didn't help that Customer Service laughed at him. "Having fun?"

Joe gritted his teeth. "Of course."

Oh how Joe wished to just punch Customer Service in the face and be done with it. Unfortunately finding Masher would be the last of his worries then; he was quite sure Nightmare wouldn't tolerate that. And that meant keep playing along.

For now.

* * *

Uncomfortable silence reigned after Escargon had tended to both Kirby and Meta Knight, and Fumu was determined not to be the one to break it. What made it even more uncomfortable for her personally was the fact that everyone was looking at her, and not Meta Knight.

At least she wasn't the one to break the silence.

"Alright, why is he still alive? You told us he died, you even-" Fumu interrupted Escargon before he was able to finish his sentence. She could imagine what he had wanted to say, and she didn't want Meta Knight to hear it from Escargon.

"How would I know? Why are you asking me when he is standing right next to me anyway?"

That at least shut Escargon up for the time being, and made him look... uncomfortable, really uncomfortable. This would end up in a total disaster, Fumu knew it would.

"Well?" Raising an eyebrow she looked at Meta Knight, who was being his usual infuriating self and didn't answer. It was still better than the version who tried his best to make everyone hate him.

"And you seriously expect me to answer that question?" he asked in a bored tone, looking around the room so he didn't have to look at one of the people inside.

"Ah Meta Knight... I don't think Fumu lied when she said you... died, but why didn't you reveal yourself sooner when you actually didn't?"

He didn't answer her father's question either, not that Fumu was surprised.

"You told Dedede you sacrificed something to stay alive, what was it?" she demanded when no one else dared to voice another question, and only three seconds later did Fumu realize how that had been incredibly stupid.

"Well done, Fumu," Meta Knight replied mockingly while everyone except for Bun eyed their exchange with confusion.

"That reminds me. Where's his Majesty at anyway?"

Fumu pressed her lips firmly together, refusing to answer that question. She looked at Meta Knight, begging him with her eyes only to say something.

He waited for a moment, as if unsure what to say. Then he was exactly as tactless as Fumu had expected him to be.

"Dedede is dead," he said simply, making it sound like he was talking about the weather and not the fact that he had killed someone.

Everyone else instantly paled after his words, and for quite some time no one dared speak a word.

"How- Did _you_-?"

Meta Knight nodded in answer to Escargon's attempt of voicing a question, his eyes showing no remorse for killing Dedede.

"_I_ killed Dedede a little more than half an hour ago."

Escargon's gaze dropped to the floor, his expression pained.

They had been afraid of Meta Knight before, now that fear reached a whole new level. Her parents both took a step back while Meta Knight calmly looked back at them. Now would be the time for any normal person to do _something_ to keep everyone from being afraid of them. Unfortunately Meta Knight was not a normal person.

He seemed slightly amused by that reaction, and Fumu saw the need to interfere before the situation spun completely out of control. Fortunately Meta Knight himself had given her the means for that, she didn't even need to lie.

"Dedede attacked us... me. I would have died without Meta Knight."

For the third time in three days already. That was something Fumu had tried really hard to forget, especially considering how that was conflicting with Meta Knight's other deeds. It was brought to mind again now, and Fumu's look darkened somewhat.

"His Majesty did-? Why'd he do something like that?" Fumu was still internally debating about telling them the truth, when Meta Knight already chose to do it himself.

"He became a demon beast. He lost to Nightmare's temptation and took the power he offered," he said with contempt in his voice, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"But aren't you also a... a demon beast?" It surprised Fumu how her mother had been the one to ask, when she herself hadn't dared. With good reason even; Meta Knight was not amused.

"Correct, I was born a demon beast," he said dangerously. "However, I did not willingly become one of Nightmare's servants. All of you would do well to remember that."

Her parents flinched back, looking even more scared suddenly.

There was silence for some moments, until Escargon sighed and looked up again, appearing much older suddenly. "What are we going to do now?"

"Do whatever you like," Meta Knight stated harshly, looking out of the window. "I do however propose that Escargon takes the throne."

Fumu blinked twice in surprise and imagined the others to have similar reactions. This was not only a surprising proposal from Meta Knight of all people, it was not the right time now either. At least in Fumu's opinion.

"I... The king?" Escargon stammered, most shocked of them all. He looked like he was going to be sick for a moment, but then he took a deep breath.

"I can't be the king. Tell them that I can't, Parm," Escargon almost begged while Fumu looked at Meta Knight, and for just a split second she saw his eyes glint with what she would call triumph.

"I... No, he is correct. Escargon is most fit to take that position."

Meta Knight had known this was going to happen. She didn't know how, and she didn't know how she knew, but Meta Knight had known. And not only five seconds ago.

"But I can't just... It's not... It's not _right_ if I become the king! And so soon after... after..." Escargon said, his broken sentences clearly illustrating his helplessness. He didn't know what to say.

"There is no one else to take that position," Meta Knight said quietly from the side, Fumu only now realizing that he had taken a few steps away and closer to the door, the katana on his back almost touching the wall.

Escargon sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment. "So I keep my promise after all?" he asked, but Fumu got the feeling he was talking more to himself. "My mother will be overjoyed when she finds out..."

"So you are going to do it?" Fumu asked him, just to make completely sure. The words had sounded like agreement, but Escargon was evidently far from happy with this turn of events.

Escargon nodded mutely.

"Where... The body, where is it?" he abruptly asked after a few seconds, after Fumu had already thought no one else would ask any more questions.

Meta Knight was the one to reply; although he was looking out of the window again well aware of what was going on around him. He seemed also aware of the fact that neither Fumu nor Bun would be able to answer any questions concerning Dedede.

"I will show you. Follow me." And he was already on his way.

Escargon hesitantly followed, Fumu all too aware how it was fear and not just respect now that Meta Knight had killed both Chief Borun and Dedede. She looked after them, also aware that Meta Knight had been trying to find a reason to get away from them.

"He's become a terrible person..." Her father seemed somewhat surprised at his own words, but Fumu wouldn't contradict him. No one did.

Fumu sighed tiredly, all events of the last three days were taking a terrible toll on her. With Kirby and Waddle Doo badly injured and Chief Borun and Dedede dead it was like a nightmare come true.

With Meta Knight the person to blame was soon found, but Fumu would _not_ blame him now. He was different in a way, not just different from the Meta Knight a day before who hadn't cared for anything, but different from the person he had been before even. She couldn't tell the exact difference, but it was there.

As for the one to blame... In the end it all came down to Nightmare. He was the puppeteer in the background pulling all the strings; the one to send those horrible creatures; the one to destroy lives with his monsters.

"Fumu, you don't look good... Wouldn't it be better if you lie down?"

"Mm..." Lie down, sink into an uneasy sleep and awake from terrible nightmares.

* * *

Escargon had not expected to have to choke back tears. Yes, he had worked for Dedede for quite some time, they had even been something like friends at some point, but lately they hadn't been particularly close and Dedede had abused his power to make Escargon do all kinds of pointless things.

It wasn't even because there was _someone_ dead, but rather really because it was Dedede. Ridiculous how he had still cared for him, although he had been incredible unfriendly ever since Meta Knight had appeared.

Taking a look to the side Escargon saw Meta Knight reacting with... apathy. He seemed perfectly indifferent to the fact that Dedede was dead, though that shouldn't really surprise him, Escargon mused.

He still vividly recalled Meta Knight's rather blunt statement of him wanting to kill Dedede.

"How did you-?" His voice quavered, unable to voice his question completely. Maybe he was just afraid to know the gruesome details.

"I impaled him through the chest."

Escargon closed his eyes. Of course, how else would Meta Knight kill him? All the blood was indication enough that that wasn't the only wound Meta Knight had inflicted, but Escargon didn't even want to know.

"Wasn't there a way to-"

"No," Meta Knight replied before Escargon had even had the time to finish his question. "He was gone. There was no way to bring him back."

Escargon didn't ask any more questions, didn't need to ask more questions. He didn't expect any sympathy from Meta Knight.

It was surreal how Dedede of all people had been the one to die. An illusion, a trick of the mind. Dedede had only sent demon beasts; he didn't fight opponents by himself. His little monsters were the ones supposed to be killed!

But now he had been stupid enough to challenge Meta Knight. Why?

He had lost to Nightmare's temptation? Was _that_ enough reason to throw all caution away and attack Meta Knight? Was there another reason?

Escargon hadn't even realized when he had started to cry, looking at the scene of disaster before him; Meta Knight standing behind him as a silent guard. _No_, the silent destroyer who didn't even show a reaction to the horrors he had committed.

Escargon still didn't think that Meta Knight was evil, standing firm in his belief that other people would have died before then. But he was a destroyer, destroying lives however unintentional his deeds ultimately might have been. He was on the way to destroying everyone's lives.

He sighed tiredly.

What was he supposed to do now? In theory everything sounded easy; just become king of Dreamland and rule this country. Just a fancy title, granting him more power than he had ever hoped to achieve.

But what of the villagers?

Meta Knight had named him the new king, but none of the villagers even knew yet, didn't even know their king had died merely an hour ago. What if they didn't approve and decided to name someone else instead?

But maybe they wouldn't. With the Chief's death fresh in their minds electing another king would be the furthest thought from their minds. No one was going to challenge a new king's ascension to the throne.

Escargon sighed again, face still wet with tears.

He just didn't know what to do.

* * *

People said the road to hell was paved with good intentions. Meta Knight couldn't say he agreed, for even without any good intentions he was on exactly that same road.

He fully realized that it was his own fault; losing control completely and subsequently dying as a result could hardly be blamed on someone else. And yet he lived, as impossible as that might seem.

It wasn't by choice entirely, but Meta Knight didn't particularly feel like being depressed because he was alive. There were other, more pressing matters that gave him more than enough reason to be depressed, or rather angry.

At himself, at Nightmare, he wasn't sure.

Probably at himself; his critical error had little to do with Nightmare himself, and he came only into consideration because Nightmare was easy to blame. Ultimately it was his own fault for relying on powers he knew might cost him dearly, and Nightmare took only a passive role in this situation.

It was certainly his fault that Meta Knight had powers like this, but it had been Meta Knight's own choice to doom himself and perhaps other people as well.

"Damn it!"

Slamming his right fist into the wall didn't help, only caused him more harm than good, not that Meta Knight noticed.

Sighing he looked down from the tower he was standing on, staring at the scene beneath him. Waddle Dee were scurrying around, doing their usual work. Although they had also suffered losses, ultimately nothing had changed for them, nothing at all.

Meta Knight almost envied them; none of them had to make decisions, they only did what they were told, never minding who had the authority to give their orders.

To think that he had also been much like this at one point in his life... Nothing of this would have happened if he had never left Nightmare's side.

But it had happened and couldn't be undone. He had to live with his choices now, regardless of how long or short this time span was going to be.

With everything that had happened he supposed it was not going to be all that much time he had left.

The only noticeable change was the color of his eyes so far. He wasn't all that happy about the fact that they now were blood-red and were going to stay that way, but it was a relatively small price to pay. Everyone was afraid of him now, and even that was only a small price to pay. If he only hurried... Then what?

Meta Knight's plans had only gone so far, and suddenly he found himself in a situation where he desperately needed a plan, needed time above all else, but had neither. The longer he waited to do _anything_ the worse it was going to become.

But with Dedede's incredible increase in power he had been unable to defeat him with only his own strength. The power he had been forced to use... There had been no way around that.

Its corrupting influence was far worse than before, screaming at him to give in completely. He had already lost against corruption once, had been unable to even realize what was happening to him then, and consequences had been far reaching. _Were_ far reaching.

Grimacing at the thought Meta Knight looked up at the sky. Worst case scenario. The situation right now came pretty close to that.

Everything was spinning out of control, leading inevitably to a painful end. Meta Knight didn't delude himself into thinking that it wasn't his fault, didn't doubt for a moment that most of Dreamland's misfortune had been his fault.

He clenched his fists, ignoring the pain in his left arm.

_Nothing_ of this had been supposed to happen!

But he couldn't let his mask of indifference crack. He had been unable to play his role perfectly, had reacted with anger earlier, but he couldn't change it. Fumu and Kirby would be hardest to deceive, but he had to do it.

He already had a role in mind for Kirby. If everything went as Meta Knight feared it would, Kirby would be left with no choice in the matter.

Uncontrollable laughter escaped Meta Knight, and he was never sure if it was hopelessness, simple madness or if he really found the situation hilarious.

* * *

"Ah your Majes-"

Listening to Customer Service choking off right inside a word was in a way really satisfying for Escargon. Not that it would make the conversation that was about to follow any less unpleasant, though.

"Oh it is you. How may I be of assistance, Escargon was it?" Surprise had been replaced by a fake smile in the mere fraction of a second, but Escargon wasn't fooled.

"I don't think you can be of any assistance right now," he said, surprised by how firm his own voice sounded.

"Then what-" Brusquely interrupting him, Escargon continued.

"I contacted you because there has been one significant change. As the previous King of Dreamland has perished, _I_ will now reign as the new king," he continued, well aware that now there was no turning back.

Customer Service's surprise was unmistakable this time. He stared at Escargon for a few moments, and when he finally remembered to smile again, it was so obviously fake that it was impossible to miss.

"If I may ask... how did he die?"

"You may ask, but I can't tell you exact details, seeing as I myself wasn't present."

Escargon really didn't see the point of telling an employee of Nightmare's what he wanted to know. Customer Service, certainly not expecting a refusal, frowned for only a moment. Then his expression was back to his normal almost unnatural smile.

"I see... Well then, can Holy Nightmare Corporation be of any use to the new king?"

"No, I will contact you if I need your services." And the connection was cut.

Escargon sighed and leaned back on the throne he was sitting on. It felt wrong to sit there; someone else was supposed to be sitting on it. The serious expression he had adopted for talking to Customer Service was gone, replaced by an expression some would call pitiful.

At least one problem was out of the way for now. He doubted Holy Nightmare Corporation would keep away, after all he had only told them that Dedede had died. He had neglected to mention that the wolf they had sent had also died, and that Meta Knight had been the one to do it.

If it went well the little detail of who had killed whom would go ignored, but knowing their luck nothing of the sort was going to happen. And if they found out Meta Knight still lived...

Well, Escargon hoped Holy Nightmare was not as obsessed with Meta Knight's death as Dedede had been.

He sighed again, frustrated. Something even more horrible was going to happen, he was almost sure of that.

* * *

When Fumu awakened from her uneasy sleep it was afternoon. She didn't exactly feel rested, but at least she hadn't awaked from a nightmare either.

Leaving her room and only finding Kirby asleep in the living room, Fumu left to wander aimlessly through the hallways. The hallways she walked through were mostly deserted, with the occasional Waddle Dee she saw patrolling.

Even they had suffered in the last few days. No one had been left unaffected, absolutely no one. The once so peaceful Dreamland had become the battleground for two opposing forces; Nightmare with his whole empire against Meta Knight, who had... betrayed him at some point? Fumu didn't even know what exactly had happened.

Meta Knight would probably never tell her, assuming that Fumu actually asked him about it.

With the vague goal of finding Meta Knight Fumu continued on her way through the castle. If he didn't want to be found Fumu would never find him, but it gave her something to do at least. It was better than sitting in her room and staring at the wall, doomed to think of every thing that had happened.

Half an hour later Fumu found herself in the courtyard where they had first met Wolfwrath; where all their grief had started. No, that wasn't quite right. Their grief had started well before that already. Maybe Meta Knight's arrival had been the starting point, maybe it had been before or after, but here everything had ultimately gone to hell.

The courtyard had been mostly destroyed, the grass burned away, but the debris has been cleared away.

Mostly destroyed but not completely gone. The grass was going to grow back sooner or later, the fountain was going to be built anew, the village was going to be rebuilt. Only the life lost was not going to be returned. Could not be returned.

Resolutely wiping any tears away and leaving the courtyard behind, Fumu continued her search for Meta Knight. Lost life could not be returned, but Meta Knight was still alive.

"What is it, Fumu?"

When she finally found him at the top of one of the towers he didn't even turn around, knew who had approached him anyway. Trying not to falter in her resolve she stepped closer, until she stood directly beside him.

"How are you still alive?" she almost demanded, surprising herself with her tone of voice. It was much like it had been in the past, when she hadn't been afraid.

Meta Knight, however, wasn't impressed, kept staring off into the distance without ever answering her question.

Then he turned in her direction, voice indifferent. "Why do you care?"

The question threw her completely off course, which had certainly been Meta Knight's intention.

Why did she care that Meta Knight was still alive? With all the things he had done she had every reason to hate him.

She didn't notice that her question hadn't even implied any caring for his well-being.

"I care... because you are a friend."

"A friend?" Meta Knight seemed absolutely surprised for a moment, even more so than Fumu herself; then he was back to his mask of indifference. "A great friend I am, indeed."

Fumu was left at a loss for words, and Meta Knight continued.

"Friendship is based on trust, no?" Simply a rhetorical question. "I think we both know how there is no such thing as trust between us. You can only trust me to lie to you when it suits my purpose."

A dumbfounded expression found the way to Fumu's face. He was going to lie to her, _had been_ lying to her and had just admitted it. Were their future interactions doomed to end with Fumu doubting his every word, even more so than before?

"It is already over; the moment where we could have been friends. Circumstances beyond my control forced me to do drastic things, things neither you nor anyone else will forgive."

Chief Borun and Dedede...

"You didn't have to kill them..." Fumu said quietly, and Meta Knight turned away.

He was silent for a few moments, and Fumu was about ready to say something again, when Meta Knight finally decided to speak.

"I had..." And then decided against it. She was certain he had almost told her something he didn't want her to know.

Fumu smiled, sadly. She had expected something like this.

"You know, Meta Knight, I cried when I told the others what had happened. I cried because I thought you had died, because I regretted my last words to you. 'I hate you', we both know how that was a lie. Even despite all the things you did I still don't hate you.

"Do you know why?"

Meta Knight gave no answer, didn't appear to be listening even.

"Maybe I am a fool," she continued, deliberately choosing Meta Knight's own words, "but I don't think you are evil. Certainly, you have proven how heartless and cruel you can be, and yet you _always_ got me out of harm's way. I never really thought about it until now, but even after you threatened me you continued to protect me and everyone else."

She paused, trying to gauge Meta Knight's reaction. He had sighed, she was almost sure of that. She had neither seen nor heard him sigh, and yet she knew he had done it.

Maybe she had only imagined that Meta Knight had reacted with resignation, though, for a moment later he replied with a coldness that would have seriously frightened Fumu earlier today. Now she wasn't sure how to react.

"It is already too late, much too late. Don't cling to illusions, Fumu. Your hopes will only be shattered in the end."

Fumu briefly closed her eyes, then walked away, back down the stairs.

"I don't believe _you_ will do it."

She wasn't sure if Meta Knight had heard her.

* * *

**A/N:** I really wanted to say something to this last part. Lost opportunities and all that. Two even when I really think about it. Unfortunately I probably wouldn't stop laughing if I said any more. Confused? That's alright.


	23. Devour

**A/N: **And finally; the beginning of the end.**  
**

* * *

**23. Devour**

Customer Service had found himself in all sorts of problematic situations in the past, and somehow he had always resolved them. He was certain this one would be no different, although this development was in a way most unfortunate.

Dedede hadn't been all that important, but he had been easy to manipulate. His former assistant had never seemed excited about a new demon beast, and with him on the throne Customer Service was almost sure that he wouldn't be sending any demon beasts to Dreamland.

That wasn't even the worst thing, though.

With both Dedede and Wolfwrath dead (for what else could possibly have happened?) it meant that Kirby was still alive and had obviously been much stronger than expected.

Noticing Knuckle Joe return from the corner of his eyes, Customer Service pretended to be busy.

At least Escargon's timing had been good; with Knuckle Joe's presence Nightmare surely already knew what had happened, and it wouldn't be his own task to tell him.

Oh Customer Service wasn't ignorant of the fact that Knuckle Joe was watching his every move on Nightmare's orders, but that was certainly the point. Nightmare wanted him to know that he was being watched.

"How was training?"

The youth frowned darkly at him for a moment, then his expression turned back to normal. "Those things are too stupid to follow orders effectively," he grumbled, and Customer Service's smile widened a little.

"Maybe it would be good if you didn't kill them?" he asked mockingly, but the expected frown didn't come.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm gonna try not to kill them all." And with that he was already gone again, leaving Customer Service alone and leaving him with the time to think about what _he_ was going to tell Nightmare.

The truth obviously, he knew it already anyway, though maybe telling Nightmare the _complete_ truth wouldn't be in his best interest. Neither Dedede's nor Wolfwrath's deaths could be hidden, but what if he told him Kirby had also died?

No, that would be bad. He didn't know if Kirby was still alive, but if he was and Nightmare found out then he would have his head. No, there had to be a way to turn this situation slightly around and have not everything be a waste.

Cursing silently under his breath Customer Service realized how there was nothing he could do. If Meta Knight was still alive the situation would be a different one. Whenever Meta Knight was involved Nightmare always blamed it on his strength, but now that he was dead this... excuse wouldn't work.

Blaming it on Kirby's strength then? Knowing full well how that probably wasn't going to work, but having no other options Customer Service resigned himself to his fate.

He had always thought of the best things to say on the spur of the moment...

* * *

Even now, days after everything had gone to hell, no solution had presented itself to Meta Knight. Nothing short of a suicide mission at any rate, but he was hesitant to go through with that - at least he had been until now.

Ultimately realizing the futility of thinking any longer about it, Meta Knight had reached the conclusion he had come to long ago already. There was nothing he could do - nothing other than attacking Nightmare directly.

Of course that... plan left many other problems, the biggest one actually reaching Nightmare. Reaching the fortress was not all that hard, he supposed. But staying alive long enough to actually meet the Emperor of Darkness? Yes, that might become a problem.

Allowing himself a smirk, leaving Kirby right beside him hopefully oblivious to his true thoughts, Meta Knight couldn't help but find the irony quite amusing. It was positively ridiculous that the way to reach Nightmare would be more dangerous than to actually meet him. To Meta Knight at least.

Kirby on the other hand... Of course he was going to insist on coming along as soon as he found out what Meta Knight planned to do. In fact Meta Knight fully counted on it. Just like he counted on the fact that Fumu and Bun were going to insist the same.

Taking them along would be cruel; Nightmare's fortress was really no place for them to be at. But Meta Knight was going to allow himself to act a little selfish here; if Kirby was needed it would be hard to leave those two behind anyway.

"You okay?" Kirby suddenly asked from the side, momentarily startling Meta Knight. He had not forgotten about Kirby's presence, but he had been too absorbed in his thoughts to pay him any attention.

"Yes," he lied, feeling almost guilty about what he was going to do soon.

Kirby beamed at him, obviously satisfied with the answer.

How Kirby was able to smile like this... Meta Knight would probably never understand it. The scars on his face were beginning to fade away slowly, belying the seriousness of the injury Kirby had suffered only days ago.

They were probably not going to fade away completely, but Kirby's incredible healing rate made his injuries look like they were already months old.

Meta Knight in contrast still carried the scars Wolfwrath had left on his arm, and they had barely even begun to heal. Another price he had paid, he had angrily noticed.

"What you gonna do?" Kirby had stopped smiling, and Meta Knight didn't like the serious expression his face had adopted.

Briefly wondering when exactly Kirby had started to talk almost normally, Meta Knight stalled for time, trying to delay the inevitable for just a moment longer.

"Why do you ask?" he questioned, making Kirby frown for just a moment.

"Afraid..." he mumbled, making Meta Knight wonder whom he was talking about. "Nightmare?"

He turned away from Kirby, looking outside instead. His answer was going to be important here; everything might depend on it. If he was going to lie... How far-reaching would the consequences be?

"Oh, there you are! We've been lookin' for you!" Bun's voice sounded through the hallway, oddly cheerful. A fake sort of cheerfulness.

"Hi," Kirby replied, and Meta Knight imagined him to smile at him as well. Them, he supposed. Although Fumu had not said a word yet Meta Knight knew she was accompanying her brother.

His chance to avoid the conversation and go on his own, without any of them ever knowing what he had planned. Kirby wouldn't push in their presence, Meta Knight was absolutely sure of it.

He didn't even have to make that decision.

Meta Knight's vision unfocused for only a moment, making him feel dazed, and it was enough for him to stagger quite ungracefully into the wall. Of course it didn't go unnoticed, and it didn't help that he was gasping for air either.

"Meta Knight?"

Supporting himself on the wall with his right arm, Meta Knight faced the ground and closed his eyes for a moment. Great, he wouldn't be able to ignore their questions now. If he did... He didn't even want to think about the consequences.

"What happened?" Fumu asked, skipping the question for his wellbeing entirely.

Meta Knight slowly straightened himself, but kept supporting himself on the wall, stalling for time yet again. When had he become so hesitant? This wasn't him, and he knew it. The normal him would have reacted with coldness already, telling them to leave him alone or something similar.

Maybe it was a form of regret, maybe it was resignation. But it didn't matter. The cold and heartless him had initiated everything, and that was exactly the person who was going to end it as well. This hesitation had been ridiculous anyway.

"Nothing of concern happened," he said coldly, and both Kirby and Fumu frowned.

"But you-"

"Didn't you listen?" he interrupted, daring them to ask again. They were smart enough to leave it be.

Meta Knight unconsciously clenched his fists in the tense atmosphere, waiting for someone to ask a question; an important question. Unfortunately his words had effectively shut them up; neither Fumu nor Kirby seemed willing to risk his ire. Surprisingly Bun was the one to break the silence, and Meta Knight didn't doubt that even he had realized the seriousness of the situation.

Either he was brave or foolish, but Meta Knight smiled slightly in satisfaction at the way the conversation had taken.

"So you're alright, huh? That's good!" A grimace, maybe a really strained smile, but that was all right.

"Yes," Meta Knight drawled, not missing all three of them shuddering slightly.

"Nightmare?" Kirby asked again, and this time Meta Knight answered immediately.

"Yes," he said once more.

Kirby became a little paler, certainly misinterpreting his answer. It merely served to amuse Meta Knight now; the fact that his chuckling obviously unnerved all three of them all the more so.

"Nightmare's time is over," he declared, instantly receiving the surprise he had counted on. Of course that was the reaction, expecting anything else would have been unrealistic.

"What... what do you mean?" Fumu asked hesitantly, and Meta Knight was more than happy to reply.

"I am going to kill Nightmare."

It certainly was a bold statement. It certainly caused more than surprise. Shock was a more accurate description.

"You're-"

"How are ya even goin' to get to where that guy is?"

Now that was an interesting question, but the solution was simple. It was ridiculously simple in fact, and Meta Knight wondered why no one else had ever explored that little weakness. Then he remembered that infiltrating Nightmare's fortress came close to suicide.

"The network," he replied, and at least Kirby understood him perfectly. His face showed more surprise for a second, then he frowned.

"What network?" Bun asked perplexedly, and Meta Knight answered tersely.

"Holy Nightmare Corporation's network. The transporter in the throne room is a two-way device, perfect for what I have planned." It was going to lead him almost where he wanted to go. Nightmare was still not going to be all that close, but Customer Service would certainly suffice.

They had _so_ much to talk about.

"Where would it take you?"

Meta Knight noted Fumu's use of "would" with interest. Did she think he was bluffing? No, that was not it. Maybe she thought he could be stopped? She had to know that this was not going to happen.

"The command center. It is not quite where Nightmare is yet, but he will be close." _Close_ to the standard on his fortress at least. Nothing on that fortress was really close, for that it was far too big.

"So you'd first have to get through the place? Won't it be full of demon beasts?"

"Yes," Meta Knight confirmed, his voice sounding almost bored. "It is not a problem."

"Wolfwrath!" Kirby objected hotly, making Meta Knight grimace slightly.

"I agree," Fumu supported him. "You lost against Wolfwrath. How can you hope to defeat all the demon beasts in your way? You will be hopelessly outnumbered!"

"It is not a problem," he repeated, coldly this time. Let them think he was becoming defensive, it didn't matter now.

"How you can you be so... insufferable? It's like you don't even-!" Fumu abruptly stopped. Meta Knight saw the realization in her eyes, and she ended the sentence she had begun distractedly. "- care..."

Her face took a pensive expression. "You... Do you think we'll just let you go? At least don't go alone!"

"Do _you_ want to come with me? Do you realize that a choice has to be made?" Meta Knight looked at Kirby. "Would you choose me over _him_?"

Kirby knew whom he meant, but Fumu's and Bun's confusion was plain to see.

"Him?"

"Nightmare," Meta Knight said, and if possible their confusion grew.

"Why would Kirby choose Nightmare?" Fumu asked slowly, as if afraid of the answer.

"Why indeed?" he asked darkly, never sure if he was still addressing Fumu or Kirby. Why anyone would choose Nightmare was a mystery to Meta Knight, but in Kirby's case it was not completely out of question.

"What-?"

Leaving them severely confused had not been Meta Knight's intention, but his mood had suddenly worsened, and continuing to talk to them would not end well. Leaving without another word was certainly the smartest decision.

* * *

"You seek answers, Meta Knight."

"I do nothing of the sort. I already know what is going to happen; at least I know the outcome."

"The outcome you say?" Kabu asked, and Meta Knight was almost angry at the lack of real emotion he displayed. It was more of an observation than a question. "The outcome is not set in stone, Meta Knight. You may be convinced of your demise, but nothing is certain yet."

Meta Knight gritted his teeth, Kabu's infuriating ability of just knowing things making him angry.

"If nothing is certain the possibilities are endless," he began, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. "My death is just as possible as Nightmare's. _No_, my death is more likely. Do you think I did not consider every possibility?"

"No," Kabu answered immediately, "you did not. Your abilities prove to be a curse now, for you trust them blindly."

"What am I supposed to do then? Hope for the best?" Meta Knight asked sarcastically. "The concept of hope is nothing more than giving up. A word that holds no true meaning."

Kabu didn't answer, and in anger Meta Knight entered the chamber inside Kabu. He jumped down the stairs, deeming it unnecessary loss of time to simply walk down, and stopped two steps before reaching the pedestal.

The Warp Star.

Fumu had deposited it here, believing it would be safe. It was safe - from outside influences. If Meta Knight decided to take it again there was nothing anyone could do against that.

Not even Kabu would be able to do anything right now, and Meta Knight wondered if it would make any difference if he actually took the Warp Star. It was a Star Warrior's power source; it wouldn't be of any use to him anyway.

"This is a shelter for Star Warriors, Meta Knight. Those truly evil cannot enter."

Meta Knight paused in his thoughts, wondering briefly if Kabu was actually able to read thoughts, or if that had been a random observation.

"It seems I am even able to fool you then," he replied, a tinge of mockery in his voice. Really, "truly evil" had no set definition, and no one short of Nightmare would probably actually fit. Of course normal demon beasts were also unable to enter, but Meta Knight didn't exactly deem himself normal, and his betraying Nightmare certainly also played a part.

"You deceived everyone around you, but most of all you deceived yourself. Do you really think you would have been granted entrance had your intentions been bad? Kabu cannot tell your exact intentions, Meta Knight, but you don't intend to harm those who are not part of this war."

"Is that so?"

Kabu kept silent for a while, not ignorant of the fact that Meta Knight's mood had hit rock bottom now.

"No, my intentions are not as bad as some would appear to believe," he whispered barely audible. "That does, however, not mean that I will not sacrifice those around me to reach my goal."

Meta Knight ascended the stairs without taking a look back and stepped out again. There he paused for just a moment, unsure if it would be wise to say something.

"If you choose to go now your path will take you to dark places, Meta Knight. I cannot say if you will be able to return as the same person you are now."

"Probably not," he began, oddly amused by Kabu's statement suddenly, "but I never planned to. Maybe Dreamland's legend of Kirby of the Stars will come true after all. In that case there isn't much use for me to return from these dark places you are talking about."

"You are aware that Kirby is-"

"Yes, of course _I_ am," Meta Knight interrupted Kabu, well aware of what he had been about to say. "It doesn't change the fact that the legend refers to _him_."

"So you believe in it." It wasn't even a question.

"As long as Nightmare believes in it I can pretend to believe in absurd things like this."

Neither Kabu nor Meta Knight said anything else.

* * *

Escargon had been walking around the castle a lot lately. It helped him think, much more than sitting around ever would.

The last few days had been tiring to say the least. Two funerals had been held, surprising the villagers because they hadn't known that the previous king had died. "Previous" because Escargon had actually taken up the mantle of king, even if it was just for lack of other options.

Just as expected sadness for Dedede's death had been limited, almost nonexistent even. People weren't exactly happy that he was dead, but with the Chief's death and all the other problems it didn't come as a surprise that Dedede's death wasn't really mourned.

In the villagers' minds he was still the lazy king who had nothing better to do than try to kill their heroes Meta Knight and Kirby. Well, only Kirby now. Meta Knight had become a taboo topic, and Escargon wasn't quite sure if they even knew that he still lived. Or that he had supposedly died.

But Meta Knight was only one of the many problems and he wasn't the worst. There were other, more important things to do.

Wondering if Dedede would have done the same, Escargon had ordered a good many Waddle Dees to help the villagers rebuild their homes. The damage Wolfwrath had done was quite extensive, but not as bad as Escargon had expected. Some houses had even survived completely intact.

With those thoughts in mind Escargon barely noticed Kirby, Fumu and Bun talking with worried expressions. He only noticed them when they addressed him directly.

"Escargon, have you seen Meta Knight?"

"Meta Knight?" he asked in surprise, getting the sinking feeling that he wouldn't like the reason why they were looking for him. "Oh no... What did he do?"

All three blinked surprised at him, that question obviously unexpected for them. "Well... nothing yet. I think..."

Oh if that didn't sound bad Escargon didn't know what did. "You think? Alright spill, what's going on?"

Uncomfortable silence reigned for a few moments, then Fumu decided to continue. "Meta Knight... he... Oh alright. We think he's going to do something stupid."

Meta Knight was quite unpredictable at times, but he was not stupid. Escargon's expression must have been a little more dubious than he had thought, for Fumu elaborated on her statement, even if that didn't make it any better.

"Like getting himself killed."

"What?" Okay, that was not what Escargon had expected. "Why would he do something like that? You have to be kidding!"

Or maybe not. Their grim visages were answer enough.

"You didn't hear him, Escargon. Fumu, Kirby and me heard him, and he was so serious 'bout the whole thing!"

"What thing?" Now they were not making any sense.

"What Bun meant is that Meta Knight told us he is going to attack Nightmare. On his own." There was a meaningful look on Fumu's face, and Escargon already dreaded her next words.

"We have to stop him."

"And how do you suggest we do this? In case you didn't notice we're talking about _Meta Knight_ here," Escargon couldn't help but point this fact out. He would probably help stopping any other person, but Meta Knight wouldn't let himself be stopped.

Fumu pressed her lips together, well aware of that fact.

"He'll need to use the transporter in the throne room. We can stop him there."

But Escargon still wasn't pleased. "You can try, but why would I help you with that? For all I care he can leave and never return." At least one frown was directed at him now.

"Not a bad person!" And in turn Escargon frowned back at Kirby.

"Maybe not completely, but even you can't deny what he did."

Kirby and everyone else grimaced, but they didn't falter in their resolve of trying to get Escargon to help them. After losing a staring duel after a few seconds, he finally sighed frustrated.

"Alright, but don't expect me to be of any use."

They nodded, except for Fumu whose eyes suddenly widened. "Go... go on without me. There is something... I'll see you later!"

"What the-?"

Before anyone could stop her she was already gone.

* * *

Fumu never expected Meta Knight to let himself be stopped or even listen to a word they said. She needed to be prepared.

It had been a sudden idea, and she hoped she wasn't too late now. She had really hurried, but more than half an hour had passed, and she doubted that Meta Knight would need that much time if he really wanted to leave.

Storming into the throne room she noticed with relief that Meta Knight was actually inside the room right now; with his back to her she still couldn't miss his obvious displeasure. She also didn't miss the katana he had strapped on his back once again.

"Refuse to push the button; do you think I am not able to hack into their system?"

"And then what? Do you plan on dying?" Meta Knight turned around, surprised because he hadn't noticed Fumu's arrival. He seemed angry.

"Do you think this is some selfish plan I contrived out of the depths of my black heart?" Any normal person would have made that last part of the sentence sound like sarcasm. Meta Knight, however, sounded absolutely serious, much too Fumu's surprise.

"Death is a calculated risk, nothing more. Everybody dies!" he continued, shouting the last part at them.

Fumu flinched back and she saw she wasn't the only one. Everyone seemed afraid because of the rage Meta Knight displayed, making her wonder if maybe Meta Knight did it on purpose to get exactly that reaction out of them.

"You can't be serious..." Escargon stuttered, and Meta Knight laughed.

"Believe me, I am."

That disturbed Fumu more than his rage did. The change from rage to amusement in the blink of an eye; she could never be sure what he was thinking.

"Are you trying to play the hero?"

For some reason that made him laugh even more.

"Heroes are idiots," he began after he had stopped laughing. "Blindly rushing to their doom, convinced that nothing can hurt them when they are fighting for the right cause. I saw the GSA's defeat; I know what happens to the heroes, to the idiots who think they are invincible. They die, like everyone else."

There was a finality to that statement Fumu didn't like. If the hero died...

"Who are you if you're not the hero?"

There was a pause, but Fumu doubted Meta Knight actually thought about the answer. He had anticipated this question and knew the answer.

"I am who I need to be."

Fumu got the feeling he was smirking at them, and a terrible feeling of foreboding took a hold of her.

No one had said anything, and Meta Knight had taken the opportunity to tamper with the transporter. Fumu wasn't sure what he did, but it seemed effortless and like he knew exactly what he was doing. Like he had done this before.

When he stepped back only a minute or so later Fumu wasn't the only one surprised, not having expected him to have finished already. Nothing seemed to have changed, and yet Meta Knight seemed satisfied with what he had done.

Each of his steps felt like it was taking minutes to complete, Fumu furiously thinking about how they would be able to stop him from following through with his plan. There had to be a way... some way to stop him.

"Wait!"

He actually stopped, annoyed by yet another attempt.

"What is it?"

"I..." Now what? It was a split second decision; she had been prepared for it although she had hoped she wouldn't need to. Meta Knight didn't even seem surprised.

"I will come with you."

"You can't-"

"No way!"

She had expected vehement refusal from Meta Knight as well, maybe even mockery or amusement. Nothing of the sort happened.

He seemed almost intrigued by her demand, for reasons Fumu couldn't quite guess. When he replied it was only haltingly, the first time Fumu had ever heard him speak like this. Why she didn't know.

"Are you certain you can bear the... consequences of that decision?"

Consequences? What consequences did he mean? Of course she knew of the risk for her own safety, but that wasn't what Meta Knight had meant. Then what-?

"I come, too!"

"Do ya think I'll let you go alone?"

There was only determination in the voices of Kirby and Bun. Of course they would insist on coming along, and of course Fumu wouldn't be able to stop them.

Even Meta Knight didn't try to stop them, took their decision without complaint. Only Escargon didn't approve.

"Wait a minute!" he shouted. "You can't- What about your parents?"

"Tell them..." Fumu paused. "Tell them we'll be back."

"No, you-!"

But they didn't hear what else Escargon had to say.

One moment they were in the throne room, the next they were in a swirling mess of colors and sounds. Fumu hadn't even tried to imagine what this experience would feel like, but the feeling was unpleasant. She closed her eyes, but it only made her feel nauseous.

She only opened them again when she hit solid ground.

"What-?"

Electricity crackled as Galaxia materialized in Meta Knight's right hand, and Fumu saw him rush at someone.

"How are _you_-?"

And saw that someone be slammed into a wall.


	24. Beyond the Sun

**24. Beyond the Sun**

Slamming Customer Service into the wall and pointing Galaxia between his eyes were deeply satisfying actions. The surprise was evident on his face, and Meta Knight allowed himself a smirk.

"How am I still alive? Life is an illusion easily shattered, but as long as there is fear in your heart, I will return!"

Oh the irony. It wasn't lost on Customer Service either.

Returning to Nightmare's fortress had never been the plan, returning to the command center even less. It was a dull place, one Meta Knight had always avoided. There was nothing except for the transporter he had just used, consoles and screens.

He slammed Customer Service into the wall again, making sure he hit his head. It wasn't enough to shut him up.

"Those words..."

"Are certainly not my own," Meta Knight interrupted him. "Those are Nightmare's words, but I found them to be fitting. I am sure you always feared my return." He still smirked.

Slamming Customer Service into the wall one last time, Meta Knight took a step back, pulling Customer Service along. Surprised by that sudden change he was sent sprawling to the floor.

Groaning he slowly sat up, holding his head in pain. With Meta Knight directly in front of him and Galaxia in his face, he soon ceased all movement, however.

He was a little taller than Meta Knight, not nearly as tall as he liked to appear when he was facing customers, though. The sunglasses he was pushing up now had always been on his face, obscuring his eyes. He had also always worn the blue suit; he had not changed one bit since Meta Knight had last met him in person.

"What do you want?" he asked, and although it was almost unnoticeable, there was fear in his voice. Good.

Chuckling at the situation in dark amusement Meta Knight couldn't help but wonder. Wasn't it obvious enough?

"The cliché thing would be to ask you where Nightmare is. _Unfortunately_-" he made sure to emphasize it, "- I already know where he is. A fact that leaves you without any value to me. Too bad for you."

"Ahaha..." Customer Service laughed nervously. "Wait a moment. I'm sure we can come to some agreement, Meta Knight. Don't you think so?"

No, Meta Knight most certainly didn't think so.

"Meta Knight..."

Turning slightly Customer Service took a look at the three kids, his expression turning to one of surprise. Certainly this was not what he had expected.

"What is it? Do you want me to listen to him, begging for his pathetic life?"

"Well... no." They seemed uncomfortable. Hardly surprising. "Why kill him at all?"

"Ah thank you. Exactly, why kill me?"

One look was enough to shut Customer Service up, and Meta Knight focused his attention on Kirby, Fumu, and Bun. Of course, expecting any other reaction had been absurd. However, Customer Service had signed his death warrant long ago already, and no amount of begging was going to change Meta Knight's mind.

"Why kill him?" he asked in mock contemplation. "Maybe it is just the fact that I am an unforgiving person. Of course it has nothing to do with the fact that he is the one to send demon beasts all over the universe, and that everything that happened because of Wolfwrath is his fault."

Customer Service visibly gulped.

"Now now, Meta Knight, no hard feelings. I only did what I thought was best for business. You can understand, after all you're certainly no stranger if it comes to killing people standing in the way."

Meta Knight frowned slightly as Fumu's and Bun's looks darkened.

"What... does he mean?" Bun asked, while Fumu's look remained for a moment longer on Customer Service's face.

"Ah... you didn't tell them?" That _bastard_, his uncertainty and hesitancy didn't even sound fake! "Then I didn't say anything either."

But the damage was already done. Whatever fighting abilities Customer Service lacked, he was a master at using words.

If the desired effect had been Meta Knight's anger he had succeeded, too.

One sentence to turn the situation in his favor - at least it appeared that way. Meta Knight had no intention of losing the game Customer Service had initiated. It might even become interesting, and Meta Knight calmed down slightly.

"I am surprised," he began, "casting doubt between your enemies was always one of your favorite tactics when you got involved. For me to be at the receiving end of it again... How unfortunate that you have to do better than this."

He ignored the other three, not interested what their reactions might be. They had been adjudged unimportant for the time being; only Customer Service mattered.

His expression was one of alarm as Meta Knight stepped closer, and he quickly took several steps back with his short legs. When his back hit the wall, he looked around in distress.

"Meta Knight-"

"Don't do anything rash now, Meta Knight. You will regret killing me!" Customer Service cried, sounding almost hysterical.

"Oh?" Meta Knight paused in his pursuit. "Why is that?"

With amusement Meta Knight noticed that Customer Service was visibly relieved, pushing his sunglasses up a little higher to gain a little time. He was not the only one relieved either. Their shout had been ignored, but Meta Knight was well aware of his companions' distress.

"You want to kill Nightmare, don't you?" Customer Service's voice had almost returned to normal, but a trace of its momentary hysteria remained. "What if... I tell you I also want him gone?"

Now that was certainly an unexpected turn. Ultimately amusing; nothing more.

"Eh?"

Customer Service smiled his fake smile at the others' surprise; Meta Knight opted not to show any reaction, prompting Customer Service to keep talking.

"His time is over. Nothing has happened in the last three months since the Galaxy Soldier Army has been almost completely destroyed, and that although they are currently without leader."

Customer Service said something else after that, but Meta Knight didn't even hear him. The Galaxy Soldier Army had been destroyed and Arthur had been killed... Those _fools_, what had they _done_?

He seemed to have missed something important, for Fumu's anger was now directed at Customer Service for some reason.

"That doesn't explain why you tried to kill Meta Knight."

The conversation had reached a new level of entertainment, but unfortunately it was also about to end. Customer Service had no information to offer.

"I... well, I had hoped for Wolfwrath to die." The correct amount of hesitancy, and Meta Knight saw why some might actually believe his story. "That was not the case at first, but now Wolfwrath is quite obviously dead. And with Kirby and Meta Knight Nightmare can be defeated."

Meta Knight's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly in suspicion. Customer Service had either lied (and that would hardly be surprising) and hoped they believed him and ran into their doom, or - and the possibility made Meta Knight almost feel dread - Customer Service knew more than he was supposed to. _Much_ more.

Fortunately his unease went unnoticed as Bun asked the next question, asking exactly what Meta Knight wanted to know right now.

"Why's that?"

"It is no secret that he always feared them," Customer Service said, and although his slight hesitation would normally have gone unnoticed, Meta Knight caught it, too focused on everything Customer Service said to miss any detail.

He frowned in displeasure. The best lies were always those based on truth; it was a clear exaggeration, but it was not completely untrue. Nightmare had made sure to keep Meta Knight on a short leash in a way, and to speculate that it had happened because of fear was not unreasonable.

Not unreasonable, but absurd nonetheless.

"I know more than he is comfortable with," Meta Knight chose to speak up, trying to decide if it would be wise to reveal some important information. Customer Service's reaction would ultimately be unimportant, but he had to consider the other three as well.

Caught up in his own thoughts for a moment Meta Knight almost missed Customer Service's first small step to his right. He shifted his position slightly, but didn't follow yet. Training Galaxia on his face was enough for now.

"Nightmare wants anyone who knows about the Star Rod either on his side or dead."

Customer Service tried to hide it, but Meta Knight noticed him wince slightly when he mentioned the Star Rod. So he had known about that; by accident certainly, Nightmare was highly protective of that knowledge.

Or was it by accident? Maybe Customer Service had specifically looked for knowledge like this. If so did Nightmare know?

Meta Knight doubted it; while _he_ had survived the inevitable revelation, Customer Service was... not exactly easy to replace, but not as irreplaceable as Meta Knight himself had been back then.

"Star Rod?" Kirby spoke for the first time, having just followed the conversation with interest and no small amount of suspicion before. That crucial little detail had been hidden from him as well.

Now he knew, and with him Fumu and Bun. If Meta Knight's suspicion of Nightmare terminating all confidants was true, the number of people knowing this... _secret_ had just doubled.

"It is a legendary weapon said to be able to defeat Nightmare," he said slowly, keeping a close eye to everyone's reaction.

It was mostly surprise, except for Customer Service, who had known before.

"Do you know where it is?"

Meta Knight paused in his thoughts for a moment, sending a quick glance in Customer Service's direction. He seemed most interested now, and Meta Knight found himself amused yet again. The two small steps Customer Service had taken to get away went ignored.

Of course, Nightmare's obedient servant needed to know what the enemy knew and needed to make a report to his master as soon as possible. Pathetic.

"I have suspicions, nothing more."

Nevertheless, it was enough to get a reaction.

"You actually know something about it?" Customer Service seemed almost aghast for a moment, forgetting to keep playing his part. He noticed immediately, but not soon enough to correct his mistake.

"Your reaction surprises me." A blatant lie, not that it mattered any longer.

"I..." Customer Service noticeably hesitated now, the realization that his last reaction had screwed everything up sinking in. "It's rather surprising that _you_ know something about it, wouldn't you agree? This is certainly... ironic."

He smiled his fake smile, the light reflecting off his sunglasses.

In retrospect Meta Knight was sure he would have caught his intention without the sunglasses.

Customer Service bolted for the closest console, the two small steps Meta Knight had ignored before proving to his disadvantage now.

A myriad of curses on his tongue he followed immediately, still too late to hinder his opponent from reaching his destination.

Rapidly typing for just a second or two, Customer Service not only accomplished his goal, but even more. Meta Knight merely aimed for destruction with his strike and found himself surprised when his opponent managed to evade it.

Sparks flew as the keyboard Customer Service had been typing with was destroyed, obscuring Meta Knight's view for just a moment.

Wrenching Galaxia back out, metal screeching as he did so, Meta Knight's red eyes focused on Customer Service. He was beyond angry now, _furious_, and _nothing_ was going to stop him from killing Customer Service.

Voices sounded far away, and he barely noticed that someone was shouting at him. Didn't care that someone was shouting.

Electricity coursed through Galaxia as he approached the enemy, but even that he barely noticed.

Customer Service's back had hit another wall, leaving him no way to escape and making Meta Knight grin in anticipation. There was _no_ escape.

He shouted something, probably for Meta Knight to stop, but he was too late, much too late.

Galaxia pierced through his chest, intentionally missing the heart; making sure Customer Service still lived.

A horrified shriek sounded behind them, maybe even three, and Customer Service grimaced in obvious pain. But even despite the situation he didn't scream or cry, indicating in no way the seriousness of his injury other than his expression.

Meta Knight hated him for it.

Then he twisted Galaxia slightly and a pained gasp escaped Customer Service.

"W-why did you do that?"

The question made him chuckle slightly at first, then it evolved into mad laughter.

He wasn't Nightmare, but killing Customer Service... What a satisfying feeling.

He let go of Galaxia and took two steps back, Customer Service sliding down the wall Meta Knight had been pressing him against.

A trail of blood was left on the wall, directly above the slumped body of Customer Service. The front of his once navy blue suit was left bloodstained, and more and more soaked it as seconds passed.

His breath came only jerkingly and his right hand trembled as he slowly lifted it, touching one of Galaxia's spikes. The razor-sharp blade cut deeply into his hand, demanding even more blood from its already as good as dead enemy, but he didn't seem to notice.

Shakily he tried to get the weapon out, was only stopped by Meta Knight suddenly holding the hilt again.

He wouldn't let Customer Service get off that easily.

"W-why d-do you... n-not-"

"-kill you?" Meta Knight finished. "Because I want to see you suffer."

"No, don't."

Suddenly all three kids were there; Fumu and Bun on his left, Kirby on his right. They looked sick, disturbed, shocked but had decided to interfere after all. The fools.

"Do you think you can stop me?" he asked coldly, making all of them flinch.

"P-please don't, Meta Knight. If you do, will you be any better than Nightmare?"

He couldn't help himself; this statement was utterly absurd, ridiculous, and Fumu didn't even seem to realize it. Meta Knight laughed.

Only after several seconds did he speak again, all amusement gone, leaving a bitter taste behind.

"Better than Nightmare?" he whispered, and Fumu and Bun took a step back in sudden fear. "No. To you, who only think in absolute terms like life and death, everything I did would seem far worse than anything Nightmare ever did."

They stayed mute, and Meta Knight's fist clenched around Galaxia's hilt.

"Nothing to say? I didn't expect you to. After all," he paused, suddenly smiling darkly. "After all you know what I am capable of. Or did you already forget what I did, whom I killed?"

Of course they still remembered, of course they wouldn't forget.

Fumu pressed her lips together and looked at the ground for a moment; Bun looked to the side. The only one staring back at him was Kirby, but he had always known what Meta Knight was capable of. Maybe he had not been able to comprehend it, after all Kirby was not violent or even remotely evil although he was a demon beast.

But it didn't change the fact that he knew about many of the things Meta Knight had done.

"No," he spoke with resolve, but it was not an answer to the rhetorical question Meta Knight had asked.

Meta Knight frowned and let go of the weapon he had still been holding, facing Kirby.

Trying to stare him down proved futile; Kirby's eyes were full of iron resolve. Ridiculous how that was all it took for Meta Knight to relent - in a way.

Customer Service's death had been calculated, and although nothing would be able to save him now Meta Knight was not going to forfeit this chance.

Slowly sliding the katana out of the sheath on his back Meta Knight made ready for the end. Letting him bleed to death was not enough; he was going to do this himself.

"What are you doing?" came the horrified question from his left, easily ignored with practiced ease.

"I believe you said something about irony," Meta Knight smirked at the barely conscious Customer Service. There was recognition in his eyes when he saw the weapon in Meta Knight's hands, but he was too weak already to react with anything else.

Meta Knight thrust the weapon forward, aiming for death this time.

It was only a brief struggle and dead silence ensued after Customer Service had taken his last breath. Turning around slightly Meta Knight saw both Fumu and Bun look away now, all the blood too much for them.

Sheathing both weapons again, Meta Knight paid them no further mind, directing his attention at the destroyed console instead. The sparks were certainly no good sign. This was ridiculous; what exactly had he hit to make sparks appear? Logic dictated that there should be no more electricity running through the system, for the damage was quite a bit more extensive than he had first believed.

"How can you act so nonchalantly?" Fumu whispered from behind him, her expression in an impressive display of self-control almost blank. Almost, Meta Knight clearly saw the cracks in her mask when he turned around.

Instead of replying he turned his attention to another console, soon finding what consequences Customer Service's last desperate attempt of spite had.

What an interesting choice he had made. Useless, but ultimately interesting nonetheless.

They were trapped.

Customer Service had blocked any access to the transporter, and Meta Knight had made sure to trap them with his shortsighted decision of attacking in blind rage. Inadvertently playing right into Customer Service's cards.

Abandoning the console he turned around, finding his three companions standing closely together, expressions grim as they faced him. They had moved away from their enemy's corpse, ironically moving closer to Meta Knight, whom they eyed warily and with no small amount of fear.

"Did you expect Nightmare to await the glorious heroes, ready to be defeated without resistance?" he asked, amusement hidden beneath cold mockery. "Did you delude yourselves into thinking that there would be no more deaths?"

They didn't answer.

"You have two choices now: you either follow me, or you stay here. The way back is blocked," he continued, seeing the horror on their faces for just a moment.

"What do you mean the way back is blocked?" Fumu asked in near panic, Kirby and Bun's faces showing identical expressions of the same emotion.

"I mean exactly that. You cannot return. Customer Service and I destroyed the way back."

Meta Knight wasn't sure if he was impressed or disappointed by what happened next. They seemed resigned all of a sudden, and while it was a nice change from the fact that especially Fumu liked to question much of what he said, it left him wondering why they followed him so readily after all.

With Meta Knight at the front and Kirby bringing up the rear they left the command center behind, entering the corridors.

The surroundings were in a strange way almost refreshing to look at; after the (too) idyllic landscape of Dreamland and the stone hallways in the castle these hallways in the fortress appeared futuristic.

He had almost forgotten the never-ending maze these hallways created, all of them looking the same with their metallic shine and the absolute lack of details. For the evil overlord's fortress it was all much too bright, creating a false sense of security at first.

Then the unnerving echo of their footsteps ruined it, reminding him painfully of the last time he had been here.

Back _home_; he could only scoff at the absurdity of that thought. Contempt was all he had to give; the fortress and its inhabitants didn't deserve any more.

"Where are we goin'?" Bun mumbled after a while, making Meta Knight stop abruptly.

What a _foolish_ question.

"Where do you think we're going?" Fumu shot back in an irritated tone of voice, beating Meta Knight to saying something in anger.

Had his mood been bad before it was still nothing compared to his mood now. He was on edge, waiting for something, _anything_ to happen any moment now. Had Fumu not answered first... well, she had answered first.

"To where Nightmare is?"

"Why do you ask when you already know the answer?"

"Silence!" Meta Knight commanded before they were able to continue their meaningless argument, shutting them up instantly.

He had to admit this was not going according to plan. Really, nothing was.

Control was slipping from his fingers, and the harder he tried to hold onto it the more he was losing it. He had to remind himself that he wasn't angry with his companions and that nothing was their fault.

In fact everything was his fault.

And it hardly came as a surprise when everything went south only minutes later.

* * *

Bun shivered, feeling cold.

This was not good; this was not good at all. Actually this was really bad.

He had absolutely no idea where they were, and the semi-darkness they were walking through left him feeling anxious, waiting for something bad to happen. Rather something worse than what had already happened.

"Where are we?" he whispered, not daring to speak any louder into the dreadful silence.

There was a pause, as if Kirby had to think about his response for a while.

"Sci... ence," he whispered back, only a little louder than Bun.

Science. Bun had the most horrifying images before his mind's eye now, imagining awful things done to innocent people.

He gulped. If they had ended up in the science department what horrible place had Fumu and Meta Knight ended up at? Had they even managed to escape?

But of course they had. There was no way in hell they had been caught. Fumu was much too smart to let herself be caught, and Meta Knight...

Meta Knight would just do what Kirby hadn't done. He would kill their attackers first chance he got, utterly annihilating them and...

Bun felt sick all of a sudden. What Meta Knight had done to that Customer Service guy... He had gone way too far then, and Bun had honestly been afraid and he knew he hadn't been the only one.

His eyes, those terrible red eyes...

He slowly followed Kirby, trying his best not to make any sound. Like this the corridor seemed endless, but Bun couldn't bring himself to walk any faster right now, feeling that only a little faster would bring about their doom.

Kirby moved carefully, without making a sound, and yet, when he opened the first door they came across the sound of it echoed throughout the whole corridor.

Bun unwittingly tensed; when nothing happened he relaxed again. Hurrying after Kirby, who had already entered, Bun almost ran into him.

Suddenly, inexplicably he felt sick. This was the science department. _Nightmare's_ science department.

The room itself wasn't any less dark than the hallways had been, the only light coming from several monitors lining up the walls. On some of them inexplainable charts or plans were flashing, demanding someone to read them and make sense of them.

Others showed video footage of dark rooms with-

Bun looked away, sick to the stomach.

Only to see something even more horrible, something closer. He gasped in horror, but was unable to avert his eyes from the sight before him.

What were those... _things_?

It was a grotesque, horrible sight; several tubes with... abominations inside the room, much too close for comfort. The disfigured forms seemed to follow him with their cold, dead eyes as Bun finally found himself able move and look away again; their twisted limbs reaching out for him to come closer, into their deathly embrace.

"K-Kirby!" he shouted, not even for one second thinking about being silent. All thought for silence had been abandoned for the thought of just leaving this room again.

Unfortunately Kirby's attention was transfixed on one particular monitor farther into the room, and Bun's only choice was to walk closer.

"Come on! We've gotta get outta here!" he urged Kirby, sounding almost hysterical by now.

But Kirby didn't budge, didn't even seem to listen to a word Bun said. In his panic Bun just looked at him, didn't know what else to do for a moment. Then he looked up, seeing for himself what had Kirby fascinated.

_Project Kirby_

That was what the monitor read in faint letters, as if trying to hide them from view. Bun stared at the screen, just as surprised as Kirby himself.

"What's that?"

"Poyo..."

Kirby took a few steps forward, mesmerized by the letters, not heeding Bun's warning shout. When he was directly in front of the monitor he pushed a button on the keyboard, and the letters disappeared, replaced by a new image.

The image was contorted and blurred, but Bun thought he saw someone in a lab coat; the background was too blurred to make out any details.

_"... subject responds with violence... Nightmare predicted this... not abandoned."_

Those had only been fragments of sentences, but Bun felt uncomfortable as he listened. There was nothing for a while, until there were more fragments of sentence, this time without images to go along.

_"... partially success... incredible abilities... no response... Zero."_

With every word he heard Bun became more uncomfortable. If all that really referred to Kirby... Bun gulped.

_"... yer... d... -gerous... -ul day... per- ...ever thought... rnity!"_

The words - if they had ever been words - made no sense to Bun; Kirby also only frowned in confusion. Bun thought the tone of voice might have been excited in that last part, but without actually understanding any words he couldn't be sure.

"Are they... is that you they're talking 'bout?"

Kirby shook his head, seemed perplexed at the question even.

"What? But they-"

_"Subject has awakened again. All scans normal."_

This time there was an image again, but not of the guy in the lab coat. Bun's eyes widened in surprise; the image was slightly blurred again, but the person on the screen looked like Kirby a lot. Only the color was different.

_"... intelligent... himself. ..._Meta_."_

* * *

Anger, fear, frustration; Fumu had no idea how she was feeling right now. It was hard to tell in Meta Knight's presence most of the time anyway, but now it was much harder than ever before.

There was distinct fear, having reached its peak so far, but anger outweighed for some reason all other emotions. Meta Knight had gone too far, and while Fumu had been afraid and not just a little horrified earlier, she felt almost sure in her believe that she was safe from him.

But even if that was the case they were still in Nightmare's fortress, and Fumu had no delusions about their situation. They were probably lucky to have escaped their attackers, but they had been unlucky enough to be separated.

At least _she_ had ended up with Meta Knight.

She couldn't say she was happy with her partner, but she would have feared more for Bun's safety in Meta Knight's presence than her own. She would be able to handle this, she was absolutely sure of it.

"Where are we?" she whispered, almost hoping that Meta Knight wouldn't reply and she wouldn't have to hear his voice.

He didn't reply at first.

Instead he motioned for her to keep quiet as he took a look around the corner, trying to see anything in the semi-darkness. Whatever he saw didn't improve his mood, left him tense and obviously irritable.

When he turned around he fixed Fumu with a frightening stare, and for a moment her certainty that Meta Knight wouldn't attack her was gone. Then she remembered that for all his threats and violence he had always protected her from harm.

"What?" she asked a little louder, ignoring Meta Knight's apparent displeasure.

"We have company, or at least we will have soon enough," he replied, turning slightly in midsentence. "I believe they are not searching for intruders yet, but neither Customer Service's nor the Air Riders' deaths will be hidden for much longer."

Air Riders, they must have been the ones to attack them then. It was a logical assumption; the name was all too telling.

Meta Knight hadn't lost a word about their opponents after he had killed them quite violently, and for some reason Fumu had had the feeling that Meta Knight wasn't just angry because they had been attacked. There was some personal grudge, it was made quite obvious by the fact that Meta Knight had made sure to destroy the machines they had been riding on as well.

Whatever the exact reason for that had been, Fumu couldn't shake the feeling that he had done so quite gleefully even.

"What are we going to do?"

"_You_ are going to stay out of my way. _I_ will deal with this problem."

Fumu frowned. "I don't like how you phrased that," she said slowly, noting with some satisfaction that Meta Knight didn't like her sentence much either. "Do you think I will just stay behind?"

"I think," he began dangerously, "I will not leave you a choice. You will only get in my way, like you do so often."

Fumu glared at him, knowing what he said was not completely untrue, but feeling angry anyway. "Have you ever thought about why I end up getting in your way?" she asked icily, completely forgetting her fear.

"Because you foolishly interfere even when you know it might be your doom. Instead of staying away you virtually seek danger, endangering not only yourself but everyone else as well!"

"Because you leave me no other choice! You left Kirby only one choice, and that was accompanying you here. Did you even for one second think that Bun and I would stay behind?"

"No," Meta Knight replied immediately, and Fumu was left breathless for a moment. If he had not expected them to stay behind then-

"I knew you were going to insist on coming along. I need Kirby, and if that means I have to take you along as well, so be it."

"What do you need Kirby for?" Fumu whispered, and Meta Knight turned, purposefully facing away from her.

"Stay here, I will defeat them."

He walked slowly away and Fumu didn't even try to argue this time.

That _idiot_, he had planned something reckless.

* * *

He would surely be going insane if he spent any more time in this forsaken place.

Forsaken was probably not the right word, there were demon beasts after all. But he longed for someone to talk to, anyone short of Nightmare himself would do.

He didn't even remember, when had he been taken? How long ago had it been? That day when his comrades had fallen and he had been caught and locked up.

He would gladly have given his life; it was what he was born to do. Die fighting against Nightmare and his damned demon beast army; every Star Warrior would gladly give his or her life for the sake of others if it meant protecting them.

But that was not what fate had planned for him. Instead he was rotting in a cell somewhere in Nightmare's fortress, far away from any place where he might be able to help turn a battle in their favor.

It was frustrating how easily he had been captured; caught unaware his troops had never stood a chance and one after the other everyone else had been killed. Only he had been spared, cruel irony of fate, when he had been the one to fight most valiantly and had killed most demon beasts. The curse of being higher ranked than the rest; the curse of spending the rest of eternity in this hell of almost permanent silence.

Nightmare was trying to break him with the silence alone, and sooner or later he would succeed. With the darkness all around he had soon lost track of time, and with nothing to do time crawled at a snail's pace; leaving him too much time to think.

And dark his thoughts had been, oh so dark. With barely any light there had been nothing to turn his thoughts away from his own situation, and in the darkness he had sat, imagining how the Galaxy Soldier Army had been killed down to the last man by now.

He paused, realizing his thoughts were wandering down dark roads again. But he also paused because of something else. Had there been voices in the distance? The demon beasts rarely spoke to each other and they never spoke to him.

But there it was again. There were voices and they were coming closer, slowly but surely coming closer to his cell. Had Nightmare finally decided to kill him and not just let him wallow in self-pity like he certainly expected?

"...killed!"

He would put up a fight if they came for him; of course they had taken his weapon, but for some reason they had left his armor.

"...matter."

"...insufferable!"

His resolve wavered. Those were not the voices of demon beasts. There was someone here, at least two people, but were they friend or foe?

"Quiet," the second person said suddenly, and there was silence for a moment.

The other person said something, but he was unable to make it out.

There was a pause before the second person replied, quietly but loud enough for him to understand the words. He got the distinct feeling he had heard that voice before.

"No... There is a prisoner." There was another pause. "Step aside; there is someone behind those doors."

He had not made a sound, but still the newcomer knew he was here. Friend or foe?

"What? Wait, don't just- Meta Knight!"

Meta Knight!

His eyes widened in surprise right before there was a crash and the door was destroyed.

"Come out," the second voice said coldly, and now that he knew who it was, he was able to identify it as Meta Knight's.

But what did it mean?

To meet Meta Knight in Nightmare's fortress... Had he bowed before Nightmare and was working for him - again? But no, as unpredictable as Meta Knight's actions had been at times, _this_ certainly hadn't happened.

Slowly he took a few steps in direction of the destroyed door, resolved to find out what Meta Knight was doing in a place like this.

The light was coming closer, and although it could barely even be called light it was the most beautiful sight to him after his long stay in the dark. Funny how things everyone took for granted could become so much more.

First he saw the girl when he left the cell, standing behind Meta Knight and using him as a shield. She was tense, but relaxed slightly when she realized he was not a demon beast.

Meta Knight stood frozen, surprise evident in his posture. Galaxia had been pointed in his direction first, had been lowered to point at the ground now, however. His eyes were burning an ominous red.

How relieving it was to hear his own voice again.

"It's been a while... Meta Knight."

* * *

**A/N:** Adding a new "player" here. Anyone wanna take a guess who that is?  
And after eliminating two there are still five left to plot against each other now...


	25. Game Over

**A/N: **Ah... the chapter title. More of an ironic pointer to the date I first posted this chapter than an actual description of what happens - or maybe not. **  
**

* * *

**25. Game Over **

Impossible! That had been Meta Knight? But it had been labeled Project _Kirby_!

"But _you_ are Kirby!" Bun exclaimed, the accusation in his voice unmistakable.

"Yes..." Kirby replied, and while he seemed more curious than confused, it was obvious that he wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation.

Both kept staring at the now blank screen. Would it make sense to watch the recording again? But Bun doubted he would understand any more if he saw it once more.

"Let's find the others..." Bun said after pausing for a moment, unsure what else to do. Kirby nodded absent-mindedly.

Bun shuddered as he turned around. Of course, none of the grotesque creatures had magically disappeared in the last few minutes, and even if Bun hadn't noticed Kirby's reaction before, now he was almost relieved that Kirby reacted just the same as him.

The room sent chills down both their backs, the atmosphere so much darker than it had been anywhere else in the fortress. Forcing himself to ignore the tubes and their gruesome contents now, Bun kept his eyes firmly on the floor and went for the door.

Slowly and silently, as if not to awake those creatures from their eternal slumber (hoping that they were really sleeping forever and wouldn't suddenly attack), he walked and had almost reached the door, when something unexpected happened.

The door opened and someone walked in, oblivious to their presence at first.

Uh-oh... one of those scientists, the light from one of the screens reflecting off his glasses and giving him a creepy appearance.

"Who-?" He stopped when he noticed them, utterly surprised.

In reflex Bun backed off; probably not the smartest idea.

"You're the ones intruding into the fortress!"

Oh, this was not good. Not only had this guy noticed them, they had been noticed before already. And if this guy told others of their position...

"Uff..."

Suddenly Kirby jumped at the guy standing in front of Bun. Both crashed to the ground, Kirby getting up immediately again and taking two steps away.

"You're... Kirby?" There was honest surprise for a moment, then the scientist's expression turned angry. "One of the traitors returned. Betraying the glorious Nightmare right before reaching his goal! I'll end you for your betrayal! Both of you!"

Where that knife suddenly came from, Bun had no idea. It didn't matter where it came from anyway; it mattered where it was aimed. Bun ducked under an incoming strike and stumbled away and out of reach for the moment. Because he was closer, the scientist still followed him, though.

"Wah!" Bun hit one of the tubes with his back as he was retreating, the way in front of him blocked by the more than likely mad scientist.

"Got you now!" he screamed.

Fortunately he did not. Kirby jumped at the scientist again, throwing both of them to the ground. Unfortunately the scientist had not lost his grip on the knife, however, and Bun, seeing the danger, threw himself at them.

A struggle for the knife ensued between all three of them, but their opponent still had it in his grip, and Bun and Kirby both had to get away hastily when he managed to strike in their vague direction with it.

"You're doomed!"

"What do we do, Kirby?"

"Away!"

That would have been a good idea, had the mad scientist (for seriously, that guy was obviously not quite sane) not been between them and the door to their freedom. At least his madness made him quite predictable with his attack pattern.

Wild strokes in their direction were all he managed, but Bun couldn't say those were not dangerous. This time watching where he was going, Bun backed off again, waiting for Kirby to attack.

Their opponent had expected it, but Kirby's attack still made him lose his balance. Kirby and Bun both charged at him in another attempt to disarm him, but the result was another one altogether.

With a loud crack the scientist's head was smashed onto one of the consoles along the wall after Bun and Kirby had tackled him. Bun immediately grabbed the knife from where it had fallen on the ground and hurried back to his original position then.

Tense silence, until both of them realized that their opponent didn't move.

"Is... is he dead?"

Oh no, he couldn't be dead!

But reality didn't care for Bun's opinion. Bun himself didn't dare approach him, but Kirby did and his expression made obvious what Bun had known all along. They had killed him.

* * *

Impossible! Why was _he_ of all people here? This couldn't be!

But his appearance was unmistakable. He wore the same golden armor, making Meta Knight wonder why he still had it, and looked at him with the same purple eyes that had always looked down on him.

"Who is he, Meta Knight?"

The question barely registered as Meta Knight looked at him, too caught up in the memories that suddenly welled up. He narrowed his eyes.

"Leader of the Galaxy Soldier Army, Sir Arthur," he growled, unwittingly clenching his fists.

How was this possible? Had Customer Service lied when he had said-

No, that was not it. He had never said that Arthur had died, had he? The GSA was without leader, that was everything Customer Service had said. The thought that he had been this easily fooled enraged Meta Knight; the fact that Customer Service was already dead just made it worse.

"Indeed," Arthur agreed calmly. "I am glad to meet a familiar face in a place like this, even if I can't hide my surprise. Who is your companion?"

Shifting slightly so Fumu didn't stand behind him any longer, Meta Knight's gaze never left Arthur. His interest was understandable yet infuriating.

Had they expected Fumu to answer the question both of them were disappointed. She disregarded the question for now and instead turned to Meta Knight.

"Wasn't the Galaxy Soldier Army destroyed? Customer Service said something like that. How come the supposed leader ended up in a cell in Nightmare's fortress?" She raised a brow at Arthur.

"Destroyed?" he asked somewhat indignantly. "Defeated, but never completely destroyed! The fight for freedom will never end; as long as there is someone to stand up to injustice, others will rally behind that someone!"

One of those pathetic speeches Meta Knight hated. He was sick of them and of Arthur in general. To meet him of all people was just bad luck, but getting rid of him was not an option. As much as he hated to admit it, Arthur was a capable warrior with years of experience.

Much to Meta Knight's frustration Fumu actually nodded thoughtfully, taking a sidelong glance in his direction. Did she really agree with that?

"All right then. I'm Fumu by the way." She paused for a moment. "You two obviously know each other, and if Meta Knight's reaction is any indication you are not on the best of terms."

His reaction?

Only then did Meta Knight actually notice that he was still clenching his fists and positively glaring daggers at Arthur.

"There was a..." Arthur began, but stopped abruptly, searching for the correct word. "... misunderstanding," he finished, angering Meta Knight even more.

"A misunderstanding?"

He laughed, a common reaction by now. He laughed in anger and amusement; Arthur reacted surprised and Fumu looked back expressionless, having already witnessed something like this she had certainly almost expected it.

It was short-lived amusement and only anger remained, trying to consume him whole and making him almost feel sick.

"What a nice way of phrasing everything that happened. A misunderstanding then," he agreed mockingly, and Arthur shifted uncomfortably.

"What happened?"

"Meta Knight-"

"No," Meta Knight interrupted Arthur almost immediately. "Don't tell her," he said darkly, making Fumu frown at him.

"Why not?" she asked indignantly, and Meta Knight knew the next argument was imminent and completely unavoidable. But that was all right; it was neither the right time nor place to argue with both Fumu and Arthur, but Meta Knight honestly didn't care.

"Because I don't want you to know and bore us with your opinion," he stated harshly. The hurt expression on Fumu's face had not been his intention; neither had been Arthur's anger.

"I see you have not changed much," Arthur said gruffly, earning him another glare. "But the amount of coldness and anger even seems to have increased."

"Only recently..." Fumu mumbled, and yet both Meta Knight and Arthur heard her.

Meta Knight barely registered Arthur's surprised question, too caught up in his own thoughts now.

She was right. Not that his character had really changed over the course of barely three months, but he was quick to anger now and quick to act on it. Of course he was well aware of the reason, but if he didn't remind himself constantly of it, it was no use and he had as good as lost.

Customer Service's death was a good example of what was going to happen when he lost control, and Meta Knight knew more things like that were going to happen if someone didn't cut him down before that.

He wouldn't let himself be cut down, though.

"... are you-?"

"-going mad?" Meta Knight finished Arthur's sentence with some hidden amusement, sure that that wasn't quite what he had wanted to ask. He laughed again, that mad sounding laugh he had come to hate. "Quite possibly," he admitted, "but I am sure Fumu drew that conclusion already."

When she nodded mutely, Meta Knight wasn't quite sure how to react. Anger was of course the first reaction, but he was quick to quench that feeling again.

"Now then," he began with an attempt at fake pleasantness that didn't sound pleasant at all, "I believe that is enough."

Neither Fumu nor Arthur replied, and Meta Knight took it as a signal to move along.

Anticipating the confrontation, that was what he was doing. Finding Kirby again would be important now, and belatedly he realized that Arthur didn't know about him and had in fact not even asked a single question about the current situation.

Didn't he wonder what was going on, or had he drawn his own conclusions?

But Arthur was unimportant; no one mattered, no one but Nightmare. Even if he didn't find Kirby again...

Well, every battle had victims and sacrifices.

* * *

Intruders, and they had killed Customer Service. Joe would have laughed had that not been seriously disturbing.

And worst of all: someone had to tell Nightmare. News like this certainly travelled fast and the intruders had managed to attract attention along the way, but someone had to tell Nightmare personally. And that someone was Joe.

"Find out who did that!" he shouted, turning away from the scene. Some demon beasts scurried away quickly, trying to fulfill their orders immediately and certainly trying to escape his anger.

Damn, he didn't need this now. An enemy attack was something _good_, and now he had to freakin' do something against it! He didn't even know who had killed Customer Service; the one who would have been his first guess had managed to get himself killed after all.

Customer Service had been disgustingly cheerful for a while. Meta Knight's death had seemed to be a source of great joy for him, and although the disbelieving silence from Joe had probably been all too telling, Customer Service had been too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice.

After talking to Nightmare he hadn't been so cheerful anymore.

He had _not_ liked that development, and when Wolfwrath failed to return from the next mission of killing Kirby, and Dedede didn't make contact either, Customer Service's mood turned completely around.

Now he was dead, killed by an unknown assailant. Joe was all but sad about that, but it left himself in a tight spot.

"Outta my way!"

Brushing past several demon beasts, Joe couldn't bring himself to hide his bad mood. He didn't even know what to tell Nightmare, and he arrived at his destination all too soon.

It wasn't quite as bad as he had feared.

Nightmare didn't even seem angry at first glance, or if he was not at Joe at least. He had also already been informed of Customer Service's untimely demise, Joe soon found out, and he was just relieved that someone else had done it before him.

He didn't turn in Joe's direction, and neither did he react to his presence for some almost unending minutes. Then, with an abruptness that surprised Joe, he spoke.

"Who dares attack in my own fortress?" Nightmare asked with a calm completely unbefitting of the situation. He upheld the illusion of not caring; it was much scarier than anything else he could have done.

"We don't know yet," Joe replied quietly, looking at the ground.

Nightmare didn't react at first, paused for a few more seconds. "Of course you don't. The only one bold enough, _foolish_ enough to risk something like this is dead. Or is he?"

Joe looked up from the ground in surprise. "You mean Meta Knight?"

He regretted it instantly and looked back down, Nightmare's piercing stare directed at him now. Even without seeing his eyes, Joe was quite unnerved.

"But he can no longer do any harm, can he? Or so I was told. Even in death Customer Service proves to be a fool; underestimating the power Meta Knight was given to the very end." Nightmare paused, in thought. "How _exactly_ did Customer Service die?"

"He was pierced." There were many, far too many other possibilities. Joe didn't dare hope for Meta Knight's survival.

"How ironic," Nightmare said with a hint of mockery, his lips forming into a cruel smile for just a moment.

"Take Masher and crush whoever is responsible. Use whatever resources are necessary," he addressed Joe again, dismissing him much to his relief.

"Yes, master."

Masher, finally.

* * *

Abruptly he stopped. There was a noise in the distance, a noise most unwelcome.

"Why did you stop?" Fumu asked quietly, but Meta Knight ignored her and quickened his pace.

He heard her whisper something to Arthur, probably something rude, but he didn't care right now. Someone was close, and if they were attacked now Meta Knight would be the only one able to fight back.

By now their presence inside the fortress wouldn't be hidden any longer; someone had to have noticed Customer Service's death. And if Customer Service died Nightmare would be the first to be informed.

Maybe Nightmare didn't know who was responsible yet, and maybe that was going to be the biggest problem. If Nightmare knew Meta Knight had intruded... But that was just speculation.

Meta Knight went around a corner and immediately jumped back.

Damn, he hadn't expected them to be this close.

He motioned for Fumu and Arthur, both with tense expressions on their faces, to be silent. This was not good, but it was not a catastrophe yet. Arthur had no weapon he belatedly realized, and that meant he would have to do it himself.

But there were only two enemies; they would be easily dealt with.

Before either Fumu or Arthur could stop him, Meta Knight had jumped around the corner, Galaxia drawn, intent on killing both enemies in one hit.

His eyes widened in surprise when he realized that both had noticed him before he had jumped back. Only one had approached his position and hurriedly jumped back when Meta Knight appeared; the other had taken aim to attack from a distance.

Still in motion from his own failed surprise attack, Meta Knight wasn't able evade the attack completely and was consequently hit by the demon beast's icy breath.

His left arm, still injured anyway, suffered even more damage, the biting cold making him gasp as his back crashed into the wall.

"Meta Knight!"

Arthur or Fumu, Meta Knight wasn't even sure who shouted his name; or was it even one of the enemies? But it didn't matter, nothing as trivial as this mattered as he felt the pain in his arm, felt the rage at being surprised well up.

The other demon beast appeared directly in front of him, about to attack with a sword, but Meta Knight didn't even notice the weapon.

His brutal attack couldn't be blocked, utterly destroying his opponent's defense. A deep gash all over its chest was the demon beast's reward for foolishly trying to attack Meta Knight, and just to make sure he punched the demon in the face with all his might, ignoring the pain it caused him.

It collapsed without ever having the chance to defend itself, and Meta Knight focused his attention on the other demon.

This time prepared, Meta Knight easily sidestepped the next attack, feeling the cold air where it passed him by.

A sudden movement from behind made him strike in reflex, and only Arthur's instant movement and Fumu's warning shout made him miss.

Time seemed to freeze as Meta Knight realized whom it was he had almost killed.

The demon beast had started its attack only a split second after Meta Knight, and in that endless second he looked directly into Arthur's face its icy attack hit him from behind. It was more powerful than the previous attacks had been, smashing him into the next wall as Arthur charged at the demon beast responsible with the sword he had taken.

Meta Knight hardly noticed the icy cold as he tried to get up, hardly noticed Fumu shouting at him if he was all right.

"Meta Knight listen to me!" There was panic in Fumu's voice as Meta Knight closed his eyes and sighed almost inaudibly.

Nightmare's downfall receded into the distance while he was on the best way to bring about his own. But this was the way he had chosen and he was going to go through with this.

Fumu was startled when he suddenly started laughing, feeling an absurd amount of amusement at the situation.

"And again I find you worrying. Did the past teach you nothing, Fumu?"

He had opened his eyes again and looked directly into her green ones, saw his own red eyes reflected. The coldness in them didn't surprise him, and neither did Fumu's momentary expression of sadness.

Before Fumu had the time to respond Arthur returned, the sword he carried full of the demon beast's blood now.

"We have go before more of them appear," he said grimly, his accusing gaze directed at Meta Knight, as if meeting the two demons had happened because of his mere presence.

"Come on!" he said louder, his voice echoing in the silent corridors.

In that moment Meta Knight hated Arthur more than ever before.

* * *

Armed with a knife now, Bun felt at least a little safer. Unfortunately he didn't forget where that knife came from, though. The feeling of dread had been present ever since they had first entered the fortress, now it was a lot worse.

They couldn't be completely sure who had killed the scientist, or if it had even been their fault, but it didn't even matter. Fact was the scientist was dead.

"Where are we going?" To a place with a little more light Bun hoped. His mood was bad enough already, but the atmosphere all around didn't help any. Hallways all looked the same, all of them only dimly lit.

"Up." The prospect of more light on one of the upper levels was certainly welcome, but Bun doubted it was going to be as easy as it sounded. He just hoped there would be no more encounters with demons.

When Kirby unexpectedly stopped, Bun almost walked into him.

"What is it?"

But Bun also heard it. Something was causing much noise above, what sounded like heavy footsteps to be exact. Then it was gone, and didn't appear again after several moments either.

Bun heaved a sigh of relief; sure that whatever it had been was gone now. Kirby, however, frowned slightly, making Bun worry again. "You know what it was?"

Kirby shook his head, but his slight frown didn't leave. "Not sure."

Continuing their way even more carefully than before, Bun still couldn't shake the feeling that something would happen sooner or later. The noise was gone for now, and yet... Yet he would never feel even remotely safe in a place like this.

With good reason. It took them barely five minutes to finally reach a place that looked at least differently from the boring and bland hallways, yet Bun's state of almost happiness only lasted for about three seconds. Then the huge room they were currently in was filled with the noise of something heavy falling down to the metal floor directly behind them.

Turning around in surprise, Bun couldn't help but gape.

"What the...?"

There was a huge robot directly behind them, and before he could as much as blink Kirby had pushed him out of the way of a giant spiked ball coming their way.

With a resounding crash it smashed into the floor, leaving a slight dent in the _metal_ floor. The robot's "eyes" blinked red for a moment, searching for its target, as it pulled its weapon back with the chain it was attached to.

"Masher!"

Uh-oh. That name _was_ ridiculous, but with just one look Bun got the feeling it might be a fitting name.

Kirby gestured for him to get away, and Bun was all too happy to oblige. Running across the room and as far away as possible without leaving Kirby alone, Bun turned around and saw Kirby dodge another attack of the demon beast he now knew to be Masher.

It seemed almost effortless for Kirby to dodge the far bigger demon beast's attacks. Its attacks weren't slow, but at least the demon beast itself was clearly slower than even Bun himself. Or so he thought. Then Masher effectively proved him wrong.

The hidden jets inside its feet made Bun gape for a moment, then he cringed as Masher started to spin around rapidly and hit Kirby with its equally spinning weapon. Kirby landed on the floor with a painful sounding crash, and before he had the time to get up, Masher had hit him again.

"Get up, Kirby!"

He did and managed to get out of the way in time when Masher tried to hit him again, making Bun breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately his feeling of relief was short-lived.

"Kirby!"

Kirby had dodged the robot's next attack and looked up in surprise when his name was called. For a moment Bun's relief even increased. Knuckle Joe! With him on their side Kirby would be able to defeat the demon beast!

But then Joe suddenly attacked Kirby, and with horror Bun realized that he was not on their side.

"Vulcan Jab!"

The attack came as unexpected for Kirby as it came for Bun. Eyes widened in surprise and mouth open for the same reason, Joe's attack illuminated the three scars on Kirby's face for a split second; then his attack collided with Kirby's face and made him stumble back.

"What are you doing?" Bun shouted at him, horrified.

Joe smirked back at Bun, an expression of absolute confidence on his face. "What does it look like?"

Knuckle Joe looked differently than before. He now had spiky blond hair and his skin color was lighter than before. The outfit he wore was also blue instead of the red from before, but Bun hardly noticed those facts.

"Why?"

Joe sighed, obviously exasperated. "Ever heard of "if you can't beat 'em join 'em"?" He paused for a moment. "That's right. I joined Nightmare's side and that means you are my enemies!"

Masher had stopped its assault while Joe had been talking; now both of them attacked Kirby at the same time. He managed to dodge the robot's attack, but Joe's Smash Punch hit him head-on, sent him skidding back and right into Masher's next attack.

Kirby was smashed into the wall, and to Bun's horror didn't get back up.

"Kirby!

Joe slowly approached the downed Kirby, but before he was able to reach him, Bun charged at him. The knife firmly in his grip, Bun jumped at Joe from behind. He was too surprised to dodge completely and a bloody cut on his right cheek was reward for ignoring Bun.

"I won't let you kill him!" Bun trembled and kept the knife in both hands now, but he was serious.

Joe seemed really angry for a moment, then he calmed down again. "What ya gonna do with that little butter knife of yours? You think that's enough to defeat me?"

He was right... He was right and Bun knew it, but still he wouldn't back down. "I don't care!"

Bun charged again at Joe, but this time there was no moment of surprise, and Joe easily sidestepped Bun's strike and retaliated with a punch to the stomach.

Dropping the knife and sinking to the ground in pain, Bun couldn't find the strength to get back up again. Wheezing because all air had been pressed out of his lungs he couldn't do much more than lie on the ground and wait for what was about to happen.

"Don't interfere."

Joe's steps went farther away, and Bun knew he was approaching Kirby again. He couldn't allow that, he couldn't let Joe or Masher kill Kirby! But he was unable to get back up, and even if he could, there was nothing he was able to do.

"Kirby... Do you want to die?"

* * *

If Meta Knight had ever felt like fate hated him, that moment was now. There had been no doubt in his mind that Nightmare by now knew that someone had intruded his fortress; this just proved that he even knew who it was.

It was, Meta Knight decided, really cruel irony of fate that the one to chase them was Heavy Lobster of all demon beasts. Nightmare was of course aware of this, and Meta Knight got already angry when he just thought of that.

"What are we going to do?" Fumu shouted as they ran, and wasn't that the critical question?

For now the answer was to run and hope to find some place with more open space, for fighting Heavy Lobster in a narrow hallway was utter madness. Meta Knight knew this, and Fumu and Arthur had been quick to follow his order when he had told them exactly that.

They should have left Arthur behind, for all of this was his fault in the first place. Instead he was running on Meta Knight's left side, not at all as worried as one might expect.

Had he just been silent... Then at least there wouldn't be a big mechanical lobster following them around, trying to hit them with lasers or run them over and consequently crush them to death.

So far the three of them had managed to escape that fate, if only for sheer dumb luck.

Heavy Lobster was not slow, and it was not going to run out of stamina either. It just had one problem. It barely fit into the hallways, and whenever they took a turn Heavy Lobster consequently crashed into the wall, unable to turn completely before that happened.

It left them the time to get a little ahead, and although Meta Knight hated to run away, there was just no other choice at the moment.

"Run until we can think of a way to defeat that thing!" Arthur shouted back at Fumu, and Meta Knight found it hard not to laugh.

Defeating Heavy Lobster was going to be hard. He would know, he had practically built the damn thing. It was certainly why Nightmare had decided to send it after them; not just because it was strong but rather of the past it had with Meta Knight.

Masher or Kirisakin for example would have been just as hard if not harder to defeat.

A shot hit the wall next to Meta Knight, and taking a quick look behind he saw how the machine had come much too close for comfort. Any closer and-

A crash sounded as Heavy Lobster ran into the next wall.

Meta Knight turned around, only to notice that it had crashed head-on this time, making him wonder why it hadn't even tried to get around the corner. His question was answered when he took a look around, realizing that his companions were nowhere to be found.

He had taken the hallway on the right while Fumu and Arthur had taken the way on the left, leaving him alone and leaving Heavy Lobster to decide which way to take. It didn't need long for that decision, and cursing Meta Knight ran again.

Cruel irony of fate indeed.

Either Heavy Lobster's memory had been wiped or it was just not quite as loyal as Meta Knight would have liked. Was he going to be crushed by his own creation?

But there was a light at the end of the tunnel, quite literally.

The abyss that suddenly appeared in front of him didn't faze Meta Knight in the least as he spread his wings and soared into the air, coming to a stop high above his earlier position. Now he was able to-

Another attack coming his way cut Meta Knight's thoughts short. Rolling out of the way, Meta Knight had to his great dismay to notice that Heavy Lobster was able to fly as well. Of course, the jets would also enable it to fly.

Disgruntled at failing to realize that before, Meta Knight at least had enough space to fight now, and Heavy Lobster would also be unable to run him over.

That fact didn't stop it from attacking, however, and while Meta Knight had still thought about possibilities, Heavy Lobster had long since used the time to prepare its attacks.

Cursing under his breath Meta Knight hurried to get out of the way of the flamethrower's attack, finding no joy in being burned after being frozen earlier today. The attack missed, and Meta Knight readied himself to fire a Sword Beam.

Before he had the time, Heavy Lobster fired lasers from its mechanical claws again, forcing Meta Knight to dive down and avoid the attack. Flying directly under it, Meta Knight turned on his back and finally fired his first own attack.

Unfortunately it did little to no damage, making Meta Knight realize that the armor might be a little too strong for an attack like that.

"Damn..." he cursed, displeased that he was unable to even damage his opponent although he knew it quite well.

Swiftly moving out of the way of the next laser attack, he heard a shout from behind. Turning around he saw Fumu and Arthur had followed him and almost been hit by the attack intended for him, yet had managed to get out of the way in time.

Meta Knight frowned in displeasure.

As much as he hated to admit it, Arthur's assistance wouldn't be unwelcome right now, but it was impossible. Arthur wasn't able to fly and as such Meta Knight would be left on his own. But if he couldn't defeat Heavy Lobster how could he ever hope to defeat Nightmare?

Dodging again Meta Knight retaliated with another Sword Beam, this time a stronger one. Galaxia glowed with dark energy for a moment, before Meta Knight released it at his opponent, hitting directly where left claw and its arm met.

A few sparks were emitted, yet it didn't seem to be enough to destroy it. Satisfied that his attack had at least done damage Meta Knight turned around, only to promptly raise Galaxia and block the incoming laser fire.

Deflecting it completely after a brief struggle, Meta Knight was faced with the next attack immediately after. Heavy Lobster hadn't stopped moving in his direction and struck with its powerful claws, chucking Meta Knight into the next wall.

Almost letting go of Galaxia, Meta Knight slid down the metallic surface, trying but failing to clear his head immediately.

Watching Heavy Lobster come closer quickly Meta Knight prepared to push himself off the wall and out of harms way, however before Heavy Lobster came too close, another Sword Beam collided with its head.

Stopping in mid-air and looking for the one responsible its look soon turned to Arthur, who had been the one to attack from the side. Realizing the danger Meta Knight immediately pushed himself off the wall and attacked his distracted enemy.

Heavy Lobster didn't turn its head back around in time and was rewarded with its left eye being destroyed by Meta Knight, forcing it to recognize Meta Knight as the bigger threat.

Firing its flamethrower attack at close range Meta Knight barely had enough time to get away, his right wing suffering slight burn wounds.

Circling around his opponent now, he suddenly attacked, shot forward, Galaxia at the ready. Aiming for the previously damaged part of its left claw Meta Knight stabbed with Galaxia, piercing metal and wires underneath.

More sparks appeared as Meta Knight hastily got out of his opponent's direct reach, the demon beast trying to hit him with laser fire at the same time. Distantly hearing Fumu's cheering Meta Knight realized his success when there were less attacks than before; Heavy Lobster was unable to use the left claw for more attacks.

Soaring higher and using the fact that his opponent was only able to see him with its right eye, Meta Knight circled around, waiting for Heavy Lobster to temporarily lose sight of him. When it did he immediately attacked, holding his wings close to gain more speed.

Cursing as the machine instantly fired its lasers as it saw Meta Knight again, he fired a Sword Beam, refusing to stop his assault. Both attacks collided in mid-air, and Meta Knight flew right through the smoke, shooting like a bullet at Heavy Lobster.

Galaxia surrounded by the black energy again, Meta Knight aimed straight for the place directly between its eyes, knowing full well the most important part was located exactly there. With relief he noted that Galaxia cut right through; his not quite kamikaze attack a success.

All the sparks were enough to tell him that this attack had succeeded exactly as planned. At least that was what he thought at first.

Then Heavy Lobster suddenly grabbed him with the still intact claw and squeezed painfully, making Meta Knight cry out in pain.

No, this was absolutely impossible! He had hit exactly where he needed to hit, and yet the demon beast was still intact?

_"Automatic self-destruction initiated." _

Not even able to struggle as Heavy Lobster still squeezed and with no weapon to attack, Galaxia still stuck in its head, Meta Knight cried out in pain again. There had been no self-destruction sequence before! It couldn't have one now!

"Meta Knight!"

There was no time to spare even a second of his attention to something other than his survival. He had to find a way to escape!

Then Heavy Lobster fell and Meta Knight with it. More sparks flew as the demon beast finally died, but even in death it didn't let go of Meta Knight, its iron grip only slackening slightly, and neither did the sequence to self-destruct stop.

"Damn it!"

Trying with all his might to force the claw open, Meta Knight experienced even more pain, yet he was still unable to make it move in the slightest. There had to be a way, something he could do! But his mind was blank, no idea what to do.

He didn't need an idea; on their way down Heavy Lobster had come closer to the wall without Meta Knight noticing. Had he noticed the excruciating pain wouldn't have been such a surprise at least.

But in his panic Meta Knight hadn't noticed, and in the end Heavy Lobster's whole weight pressed him face first into the wall and dragged him across said wall. That wasn't even the worst of it, however.

With its weight pressing against the wall, the claw squeezed even more, and Meta Knight cried out in excruciating pain, certainly louder than before.

Just when he thought he couldn't go on any longer without passing out, there was a jolt, and only moments later Meta Knight realized that he was _free_. What the-?

They had hit something on the way down, but Meta Knight didn't question that surprising turn of events. The ground, previously not even visible, came closer rapidly, and even in his current dazed state Meta Knight recognized the need to avoid hitting it.

He spread his wings barely in time and in pain, and it was enough to crash all but gently but without seriously damaging anything else in his body to the ground.

Heavy Lobster's crash a few meters away resounded in his ears as he panted heavily, trying to overcome the pain. A few moments later it hadn't become any better in that regard, but Meta Knight took a look in his former subordinate's direction.

It hadn't been completely destroyed even after the crash, yet it was in quite a bad shape. Meta Knight really almost regretted that it had been destroyed...

He slowly approached it, swaying slightly, but he didn't care. It was a lie; he _did_ regret that Heavy Lobster lay before him in pieces. He wouldn't exactly call it happy memories, and yet...

Two steps until he would reach it, then an inexplainable clicking noise sounded. No, it wasn't really clicking, Meta Knight just didn't know how else to describe it in his temporary state of surprise. What had-?

Eyes widening Meta Knight jumped back, moments before Heavy Lobster exploded. In reflex he shielded his face with his left arm as he was caught in the blast, knowing that he had been too late. But he didn't even have the time to realize any pain.

The shock wave smashed him into the far wall, and the impact was enough to make him lose consciousness immediately.

* * *

**A/N:** Do you know the "Sorting Algorithm of Mortality"? "A character's odds of gruesome, violent death are established relative to the rest of cast." I found it quite amusing to test this with all characters. According to the odds I got, quite a few characters are doomed. It's certainly not made better with the chapter title I chose.


	26. Rage of Lunacy

**26. Rage of Lunacy **

Darkness had him in a loving embrace, but he already knew that it wasn't going to last. The feeling of simple nothingness slowly ebbed away, replaced by pain, burning pain everywhere.

Before Meta Knight had even opened his eyes, he already felt his left arm, as if it was on fire... no, like it was continuously being stabbed. It was certainly hard not to notice this feeling; he could have done very well without it, though.

Slowly he opened his eyes and tried to lift himself up with his right arm, completely ignoring the blood he was lying in, but immediately felt dizzy and fell right back down, hitting his head on the floor.

It was much more painful than he had expected, and belatedly Meta Knight realized that this was where the blood came from. His arm had hurt more until right now, and this was why he hadn't even realized his other injury.

Groaning he tried to get up again, this time slower than before, much slower. Coming to stand unsteadily he stumbled into the wall, glad for the support it gave him. Walking... no, impossible.

He slid down the wall and took a look around, realizing that there was nothing that would be of any use to him.

And his head hurt now, left him hardly able to think. His arm... No, his head hurt more, and had he not realized it before, he now knew that it had suffered the same fate as his arm.

Heavy Lobster's last act of revenge... The explosion had been bad enough, but the pieces of metal embedded in both his arm and head were far worse.

Slowly he moved his right arm, noting to his displeasure that it was shaking.

Between his eyes was a piece of metal, not nearly deep enough to be life threatening yet, but deep enough that he hesitated for a moment to pull it out. How much was it going to bleed?

With a jerk he got it out, the excruciating pain almost making him pass out.

Breathing heavily he let his arm sink to the ground, the piece of metal falling from his bloodstained gloved hand.

He felt blood pouring down his face and mask, even tasted it in his mouth. Such a small injury compared to his arm, but it bled so much... making him feel dizzy even as he sat slumped against the wall. Was it going to end before he had even reached Nightmare, killed by his own former subordinate?

That was sooner than he had expected then; he had imagined Nightmare himself to kill him.

Meta Knight closed his eyes.

* * *

"Oh my god... We have to-!"

Arthur held her back before she was able to run off. "Wait, don't run off blindly."

"Let me go!" But he didn't. Fumu struggled for a moment, but soon she had to admit defeat, his grip was too strong. "Please..."

A scream of pure anguish sounded from the distance, and all color drained from Fumu's face. Meta Knight...

"Be reasonable. Do you know the way?" His question was gruff, unfriendly even, but Fumu realized he was right. Of course she didn't know the way.

A distance crash, and Fumu knew the demon beast had hit the ground. "Help me find the way," she begged, trying but failing to calm down.

Arthur regarded her for a moment, then nodded.

She hadn't known him for long, but Fumu couldn't place his true motivations in this situation. She found herself second-guessing his agreement even, couldn't help herself.

He led the same way they had followed earlier back, didn't seem to be in a hurry, and frustrated Fumu with that. Meta Knight would probably be fine, had escaped somehow and had never been in real danger, yet she was feeling anxious to see that for herself.

With surprise she had to notice that she trusted Meta Knight more than she did Arthur. The notion of trusting Meta Knight with anything was almost ridiculous, but she knew it was true.

Meta Knight's dislike for Arthur had been hard to ignore, and he had not for one moment even tried to hide it. With Arthur she wasn't so sure. There was... something about him, just a feeling she had.

If she had to choose between Meta Knight and Arthur her answer was going to be Meta Knight, all his threats be damned.

They continued at what Fumu would call a leisurely pace, and it was driving her almost crazy. She certainly understood the need to be careful after her initial lack of common sense; it didn't help to make her like it, though.

Minutes went by, and while they certainly went down, Fumu never got the feeling of actually getting closer. She had long since lost all sense of direction in these endless hallways, but that was probably only because her thoughts were elsewhere.

Just like Meta Knight Arthur was an enigma, although in a different way. His position in the fight against Nightmare was much clearer than Meta Knight's, and yet Fumu doubted his intentions.

Nightmare's end, that was his goal, but she had been unable to figure out how far he was willing to go for that. Meta Knight had been willing to drag all of them down with himself, and still her loyalty remained to him, even despite all the things he had done.

Certainly Arthur's way of doing things was not going to have them all be killed, right? He was a Galaxy Soldier, even the leader of the Galaxy Soldier Army. If only he was on better terms with Meta Knight, then Fumu wouldn't have such a hard time trusting him.

He stopped, and Fumu looked around for the cause nervously. They had reached their destination after one, two or even ten hours? She had no idea how long it had been, but time no longer mattered.

Hesitantly she took a step into the much bigger room, hallway? She didn't care what it was; it was where both Meta Knight and the demon had crashed.

Arthur's gaze was fixed on something in the distance, and with a bad feeling Fumu followed his gaze, afraid to see-

"Is it the demon beast?" she interrupted her own thoughts, not even daring to think them to the end.

"I don't believe it is Meta Knight," Arthur replied, his eyes slightly narrowed. It was enough answer to Fumu; there had been nothing like a warning undertone.

She ran in direction of the downed figure on the ground; Meta Knight had to be close as well. It was farther away than she had first thought, and as time stretched on, she recognized it as the demon that had attacked them.

Or what was left of it.

The ground was littered with machine parts, the demon only recognizable because of the bigger parts lying around. Had Meta Knight done that? But then where was he?

When she finally reached her destination she looked around, eyeing the scorch marks on the ground with an uneasy feeling. They were certainly not Meta Knight's doing...

Looking up from the ground and focusing her attention away from her immediate surroundings, Fumu's look was drawn to the far wall. All color drained from her face.

The demon beast was forgotten, and Fumu approached in a daze. No... That couldn't be him. But it was, there was no other possibility. Slumped against the wall he sat, unmoving.

Nothing else mattered then. She didn't care for Arthur or the demon beast's remains; beyond all logical sense Meta Knight mattered most.

She would have run, had her mind actually processed that command. It didn't, and instead she approached slowly, afraid to see the true extent of the damage he had taken. And with each step, it became worse.

There was so much blood; much of his mask was covered in it. Yet to see his left arm was almost too much.

His arm had been injured before, but it didn't compare to the wounds he had suffered now. It was still... intact, she supposed, but with all the blood even that was hard to tell. And the blood certainly wasn't the worst of it.

When the demon beast had exploded (there was no doubt in her mind that it had exploded now) some pieces had hit his arm - and they still stuck inside of it. Others had torn huge gashes, which still bled.

Fumu felt sick, but couldn't stop looking. Was he even still alive?

But of course he was, Meta Knight wouldn't just die now, couldn't just die now. Couldn't leave her alone in this dreadful place with Sir Arthur of the Galaxy Soldier Army, who was barely more than a stranger.

Her mouth was dry as she took the last step and was directly in front of him. She wanted to do something, but her mind shut down.

She had to check if he even was still alive, hadn't she? Yet, that seemed impossible. What was she going to do, shake him and ask if he was all right?

"M-Meta Knight?"

* * *

"Kirby... Do you want to die?"

He slowly raised his head, eyes fixed on Joe's face. No, Kirby didn't want to die, and he wouldn't die either!

The plan for his own attack already in mind, Kirby was surprised when Joe suddenly jumped into the air, choosing to attack from a distance although he was already directly in front of him. He saw the smirk, and instantly Kirby knew what was going on.

"Smash Punch!"

He opened his mouth wide, inhaled, and transformed; now with an ability he was finally able to protect himself.

Joe smirked. "That's more like it!" he shouted, prepared to attack, and suddenly turned around in the demon beast's direction.

"Vulcan Jab!"

The attack smashed into Masher; exploding right in its face. Surprised by its ally betraying it, Masher didn't react at first, and Kirby took the chance to attack as well.

"Smash Punch!" they shouted at the same time, the explosion rocking its whole body, metal becoming dented by the force of the attacks.

"Heh, I knew you'd catch on to my plan," Joe said as Masher crashed to the ground, smirk still present on his face. "Against the two of us it got no chance!"

Kirby nodded as Masher got up again, swinging its weapon around dangerously. He didn't mind; with both of them working together Masher no longer stood a chance.

When it attacked, Kirby and Joe both got out of the way; Kirby to the left, Joe to the right, and they attacked at the same time, leaving Masher unable to block.

"Spin Kick!"

Masher staggered as both attacks hit, but they still weren't done yet.

"Vulcan Jab! Vulcan Jab!"

It was time to end this now. Masher was considered the strongest demon beast, but Kirby had never understood why. He was almost certain that Meta Knight would be able to defeat it, and with Joe on his side, Kirby had no trouble with that either.

Nodding at Joe, both of them charged at the same time.

"Rising Break!"

Masher had no chance. It had tried to attack them again in the second or so they hadn't attacked it, but it had been to no avail. Masher fell, utterly defeated by the combined effort of Knuckle Joe and Kirby.

With a heavy crash it landed on the ground.

"Kirby... you alright?" Bun shouted from the other side of Masher, sounding somewhat exhausted. Joe had punched him in the stomach to keep his guise; Bun certainly felt more pain from that than Kirby would.

"Yes," Kirby shouted back, and turned to Joe to ask if he was alright as well.

Before he could an explosion rocked the whole room, and both Kirby and Joe were thrown off their feet. Sliding over the floor, Kirby came to a stop after several feet, dizzily wondering what had just happened.

"Damn it!" Joe coughed. "I didn't expect Masher to explode after all."

So that was what had happened. Slowly getting up again, Kirby coughed from the smoke that had risen. That had been a violent explo-

Kirby froze. No, no, no, _no_.

"Bun!" he exclaimed in horror, running to where he had last seen him. He kicked some of the rubble the explosion had left away as he ran, not caring in the least for that now. He had to find him! He had to-

"Kirby!" Joe shouted, and Kirby instantly whirled in his direction. No, that couldn't be happening!

Kirby froze again, unable to move at all, transfixed on the image of Bun lying motionless on the ground. No, he couldn't be dead... There was no way he was dead! They had defeated Masher, they had won!

"Help me, Kirby! He's still alive!"

Alive, still alive! Kirby hurried to Bun's side now, almost panicking as he did so. Joe wasn't much better, seemed just as lost as Kirby himself.

"What do we do?" he more shouted than asked, but Kirby had no answer.

Bun was alive, Kirby was able to see the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, and he didn't look nearly as bad as he had feared either. He was lying on his back, some slight burn marks on his arms and face, but nothing more. He had to have hit his head, though.

What were they supposed to do now?

* * *

Someone was calling his name. He should have been angry, for the call brought him back into cold and painful reality, but ultimately it was better than wasting away in the endless nothingness of the darkness.

The first thing he felt was pain, although he was not even sure where. He gasped, barely able to keep himself from crying out.

"... Knight!"

His name...

"Can you hear me?" It was Fumu's voice, and she sounded about to panic. Must look as bad as it felt then.

"Yes..." he replied, slowly opening his eyes.

Fumu was directly in front of him, paler than he had ever seen her. She seemed unsure what to do, and Meta Knight couldn't blame her.

His vision unfocused for a moment, and when he looked down at his left arm he remembered why exactly that was. Fortunately Fumu was unable to see his grim expression.

"Can you get up? We cannot stay here." It took a moment for Meta Knight to recognize the voice as Arthur's, looking down at him from a position behind Fumu.

His tone was unfriendly, and Meta Knight briefly wondered why Arthur had taken the trouble of searching for him. It had to be Fumu's doing; Arthur didn't even seem to care if Meta Knight lived or died.

He nodded, finding to his relief that this movement at least was possible. Getting up was a little harder, only made harder by the fact that he did so without anyone's help. Fumu would have tried, Meta Knight was sure, had his dark look not met hers for a second.

When he finally stood again it was not quite as bad as he had expected. He was swaying on his feet, but managed to stay upright, seeking support from the wall.

"You can't walk like that," Fumu said, worry lining her face, and Meta Knight was inclined to agree.

"He has to," Arthur responded impatiently, shifting away from them. He was rewarded with one of Fumu's frowns, but didn't react to it.

"He is correct," Meta Knight agreed grudgingly. "However..." He groaned in pain as he jerked one of Heavy Lobster's pieces out of his arm and let it fall to the ground with a clank.

"What are you doing?" Fumu shouted in alarm while Meta Knight closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for the pain to fade away. Of course it didn't.

"What does it look like?" he asked a little colder than he had intended, gritting his teeth in anger and pain. Damn, this situation was spinning out of control.

"But your arm is bleeding..." Fumu continued, more subdued than Meta Knight had expected. "And you're making it worse..."

"Yes..." he groaned as he got another piece out, trying but failing to keep blood from splashing to the ground. This was not good; he was not just removing the pieces, he was making the injuries worse.

"Meta Knight, stop!"

The horror on her face, it was not because of the blood. She was actually worried because he was hurting himself.

Meta Knight almost smiled ruefully. Hating him would have been so much easier for Fumu.

"You will shred your arm to pieces if you continue like this," Arthur remarked dryly, eyeing the damage Meta Knight had done curiously. "Let me do it."

He stepped closer, Meta Knight eyeing him suspiciously. That was not something he wanted. He didn't trust Arthur enough to entrust him with that task.

"I don't think so," he replied, glaring at the Galaxy Soldier with his red eyes. Arthur stared back calmly, and Meta Knight couldn't help but imagine him to feel amused.

"I see you don't trust me. However, you cannot do it yourself. You will completely destroy your arm if you continue." Meta Knight frowned, but knew Arthur was correct. He was unable to do it himself without causing further damage.

"Now, what are you going to do, Meta Knight? Are you going to destroy yourself, or are you going to accept my help?"

By now Meta Knight was burning with anger. He was not going to accept Arthur's help. Certainly the Galaxy Soldier knew this. Or had this been his goal all along?

He was about to refuse vehemently, respond with violence even, when Fumu intervened.

"_I_ will do it."

Both Meta Knight and Arthur turned in her direction, utter surprise probably written across both their faces, although no one could tell.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Arthur snapped, but didn't say anything else when he saw Fumu's expression. She was serious.

"He will only rip his arm off if he continues," she said bitingly, "and I am not convinced that you would not hurt him more than necessary."

Hating him would have been easier, but Meta Knight saw now that it was not going to happen. She didn't hate him, and she didn't hate Arthur either. And still she chose him over Arthur, chose the demon over the Galaxy Soldier.

He sighed.

"Are you sure?"

Fumu nodded, but didn't seem sure at all. It didn't matter; it was much better if Fumu did it, although Meta Knight realized the selfishness of that thought. Arthur or Meta Knight himself should have done it.

"Very well then."

She went closer, and only in that moment did Meta Knight realize that he probably shouldn't even be alive. He should have died long before Fumu and Arthur had arrived. His blood loss was extreme, and although his arm was evidence enough neither Fumu nor Arthur had even commented on the fact that his mask was covered in blood yet.

But for some reason he was still alive. He wasn't even feeling as bad as before anymore. The pain had been replaced by a feeling of numbness, and while relieving on one side, it was quite concerning on another.

Fumu had taken the last step, swallowing nervously as she reached for the first piece. She paused before she actually touched it, trying to find reassurance in Meta Knight's eyes. That had probably not been her best idea, but it seemed to be enough for her.

Meta Knight hissed in pain as she touched the first piece, trying his best not to flinch back. It didn't even distract her as she pulled out the first piece carefully.

It did much less damage than the brute force Meta Knight had used, although there was no difference in pain. He was convinced that he had blacked out briefly, for he had no recollection of sitting down and leaning against the wall.

That was, however, where he found himself when Fumu was done, hovering over him with a worried expression.

"Is he conscious?" Arthur asked from somewhere out of his line of sight, but he didn't sound interested. Maybe it was just the fact that, just like Meta Knight, he had seen too much death in his life and a reaction like this was his defense mechanism. Or maybe he wanted Meta Knight to die.

Fumu hesitated. "Yes, I think so."

Meta Knight didn't understand what Arthur said next as he closed his eyes briefly, and he didn't understand Fumu's response either.

When he opened his eyes again, Fumu was even closer than before, and Arthur had come closer as well. Fumu moved her hands closer to his face, he realized in surprise, and it took a moment to realize her intentions.

"Don't." He grabbed her arm, startling her with his sudden action.

"You're bleeding. We need to see how bad it is."

He let go of her arm. "Bad enough that it will leave a scar, not bad enough that I will die." It might even be a lie, he wasn't sure. He saw Fumu's doubt in her eyes, and he saw Arthur's as well.

"Let me see for myself. Please."

No, he absolutely refused. He was not going to take the mask off now, and he wasn't going to allow Fumu to do it either. The mask, he had not taken it off in... a long time. He didn't even remember when the last time had been.

"No..." he whispered back, and no amount of begging was going to change his mind.

Arthur huffed. "Do you have something to hide?"

Did he? Yes, he probably did; everyone had secrets and something to hide. He just so happened to have more secrets than other people.

"Yes." He saw Arthur narrow his eyes slightly, saw Fumu's momentary expression of surprise. Of course he had something to hide, they had known this before.

Getting up from the ground again, accepting Fumu's help without complaint, Meta Knight looked around. Spotting Heavy Lobster's remains in the distance, he focused on that for a few seconds.

It was certainly beyond any help. Completely destroyed from what he saw even and it was better that way. Another foe of that caliber was certainly going to kill Meta Knight.

"I suggest we leave before someone decides to look for that thing over there," Arthur said petulantly after only a few seconds, obviously already at the end of his patience. He turned around and walked away, never seeing the scowl Fumu sent at his back.

Meta Knight and Fumu followed at a much slower pace but soon caught up to Arthur again. He had stopped at Heavy Lobster's remains, intently looking at the ground.

The reason became clear when they got closer and saw what exactly Arthur was looking at. Meta Knight's blood ran cold when he was close enough, seeing the apparent conflict in Arthur's eyes.

Galaxia.

For some reason the leader of the Galaxy Soldier Army was unable to use the sacred sword while he, a demon, was able to. It had been a cause for dispute in the past, several people remarking on the outrage of it all. Of course most of them were dead by now, and Meta Knight had certainly not shed a single tear of grief for them.

Now he was looking down at the weapon, and if Meta Knight interpreted the situation correctly, Arthur was actually thinking about trying to pick it up.

He looked up when Meta Knight and Fumu were next to him, directly into Meta Knight's eyes. The sudden animosity was impossible to miss, and Meta Knight glared back, daring the Galaxy Soldier to do something stupid.

Their staring duel lasted for several more moments, long enough for Fumu to be fed up with it.

"I'll go get it if you can't decide what to do," she muttered barely loud enough for them to hear it. Her words didn't register at first either, and when Meta Knight finally turned around, feeling dizzy from the sudden motion, he was already too late.

"Wait, Fumu! Don't-!"

Fumu's right hand closed around Galaxia's hilt, and-

Nothing happened.

She looked back at Meta Knight, an expression of worry on her face. Of course, that was a logical reaction after he had shouted at her.

"How did she pick it up?" Arthur asked baffled, but Meta Knight had no idea what to reply. This was certainly unexpected.

"What's going on?" Clearly, she was very worried even.

"What's going on?" Arthur scoffed, his apparent frustration getting the best of him. "You should have been dead, or at the very least writhing in pain on the ground. That's what is going on."

Fumu went a little paler and looked unsurely at Meta Knight, who in turn looked angrily at Arthur.

"It is curious indeed," he corrected while he turned his attention to Fumu. "Come here, Fumu."

She did, glancing warily at Arthur and giving him a wider berth than necessary. Ironically she seemed to feel much saver in Meta Knight's presence, but he held back comment right now. Arthur had screwed up; getting Fumu on his side would have been a much smarter move.

Without a word Fumu handed Galaxia back to Meta Knight, who almost let it drop down again.

Fumu jumped back in surprise when Meta Knight got an electric shock that barely lasted for a second but made him cry out in pain. He breathed heavily for a few seconds, trying not to pass out again.

"Oh? Are you no longer worthy of wielding Galaxia then and Fumu here has received that honor?"

And again Arthur had proven just how easy it was to anger Meta Knight. He was seething, silently for now, but if he pushed much more Meta Knight was going to explode, and quite violently at that.

"No, that is not it," he growled angrily, clenching his fist around Galaxia's hilt without noticing.

It was a warning, Meta Knight was well aware of that. Galaxia was a force to be reckoned with of its own, and the message was quite clear to Meta Knight. Unfortunately he had to ignore it.

"What is it then, Meta Knight?" Arthur continued doubtfully, and Meta Knight was finally convinced that it would have been much better to leave him in his cell, rotting for all eternity.

"It is not your concern! _I_ can pick up Galaxia, contrary to you. Consider it a blessing that Fumu is able to as well. It means even if I die Galaxia is not lost to Nightmare."

Arthur huffed angrily. "Of what use is that? She is not able to use it."

"No," Meta Knight replied, nearing the end of his patience, "but Kirby is."

"Who is Kirby?" the Galaxy Soldier asked confusedly, unfamiliar with the name, and Meta Knight remembered that neither of them had mentioned Kirby or Bun until now. Well, that slight oversight had to be corrected then.

"Kirby and my brother accompanied us," Fumu said before Meta Knight had the time to do so. "We were separated earlier."

"I see," Arthur mumbled after a few seconds, not quite as interested as one might have thought. Then again he didn't know them.

They descended into silence, a fact that made Meta Knight believe they were done with their conversation. Fumu saw it differently.

"What about your weapon?"

Meta Knight looked down at Galaxia, realizing that he was still holding it in his hand. He put it back in the scabbard, but of course that was not what Fumu meant.

"Galaxia... only those who are worthy are able to wield it," he said quietly, lost in thought for a moment.

"Worthy?"

Arthur mumbled something incomprehensible that went ignored.

"I am not quite sure what exactly Galaxia considers as worthy... For example there is at least one demon beast that is able to touch it." He felt Arthur's look and quickly amended. "Other than myself that is."

Fumu nodded thoughtfully. "What about others? I can touch it for some reason, and Kirby can, too. Are there any others?"

She glanced briefly in Arthur's direction, who thankfully didn't seem to notice.

"None I know of."

And that was what Arthur probably hated most about Meta Knight. His ability to wield the legendary sword Galaxia.

Oh how disappointed he had been when Galaxia had chosen Meta Knight over him, how angry when Garlude had initially given the sword to him. The glorious mission to retrieve the sacred sword with the respected Galaxy Soldier and the traitorous demon, only for nothing to go as planned.

Garlude had almost died, Meta Knight had ended up with Galaxia, and Arthur had been left with nothing except for his own life. The demon beast Kirisakin, sent to guard the sword by Nightmare, had escaped, not before injuring all three of them.

Only Meta Knight had won, although he had been careful not to antagonize Arthur any more than necessary at that time.

Fumu understood perfectly what his words meant, and she didn't ask any more questions.

"Now then..." he was feeling weak, but at least for some reason he was not in pain."We must hurry."

* * *

Their progress had been slow at best. Meta Knight was well aware that that was his fault, and although he despised that fact there was little he could do about it.

Arthur was not happy with the situation either, and he didn't even try to hide it. That arrogant fool, without Meta Knight he would be lost!

He had started arguing with Fumu some time ago for some reason, and while their disagreement had been quiet enough for Meta Knight to ignore them, this time was now about to end.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Fumu shouted back at Arthur, and Meta Knight cringed at the volume their argument had taken.

He was unaware what exactly it was about - his primary concern was remaining conscious and walking as straight as possible without blanking out his surroundings for more than two seconds at a time - but he had an idea what they were arguing about. However, if they continued like this, the next crisis was imminent.

"Quiet!" he told both of them with a harsh voice, and blissful silence reigned when Arthur didn't answer Fumu's statement. But only for a few seconds; then Fumu chose another topic.

"Meta Knight, you can't go on like this," she whispered, at least taking his demand for silence to heart. "You no longer even try to pretend you are alright; you look like you're about to drop dead!"

As if to prove her point Meta Knight found it incredibly hard to focus his gaze on Fumu. She noticed and pressed her lips firmly together for a moment.

"That is exactly what I mean."

"She is correct," Arthur added. "In a condition like that you become a liability."

"What? That's not-"

"What do you suggest we do then?" Meta Knight interrupted Fumu, his voice cold. "Leave me behind?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Arthur huffed. "I won't leave a comrade behind unless there is absolutely no other way. I am simply stating a fact; I doubt you will be able to defend yourself like this. _But_," he looked sternly at him, "you are the only one who knows this place. We need you to guide us."

"And that is everything there is to it. You need me. If that wasn't the case you would long since have discarded me, no?" Meta Knight accused, the coldness in his voice replaced by anger.

"Don't always think the worst of me, Meta Knight. I trusted you, but I trusted someone else more. I realize that was my mistake, but I can not undo what happened in the past!"

"This isn't about the past! You are _still_ the same arrogant fool you were back then!"

He was almost blinded by anger now, but maybe to say something like this had been long overdue. Yes, certainly. Arthur had always been blinded by his arrogance.

"As the leader of an army opposing Nightmare it is my duty to make decisions with far-reaching consequences. Maybe I was a fool to trust Yamikage's word more than yours, but I _do_ trust you to get us through this now."

Meta Knight didn't want to hear it. He _wanted_ to be angry with Arthur. Angry that he had admitted that he had been wrong in the past.

He couldn't help it; he had the overwhelming urge to laugh. Neither Fumu nor Arthur tried to talk to him while he was laughing.

"You trust me? Don't make me laugh!" he shouted, well beyond any point of caring about trivial things such as being quiet and not attracting any unwanted attention. "You tolerate my presence, but as soon as I am no longer needed your so called trust will be gone!"

"I am sure that's not-" Fumu began, but was interrupted again.

"No, let him talk," Arthur said, his severe gaze never leaving Meta Knight. "I see now that nothing I say will have an effect on him. The person we both knew seems to be as good as gone."

Fumu gasped in surprise, and Meta Knight himself couldn't say he was any less surprised by that statement.

What exactly did Arthur mean? He was still the same person, wasn't he? Then again he was probably not, and while a small part of him realized that, the overwhelming majority reacted with even more anger to this statement.

Galaxia had materialized in his right hand before he had even consciously thought about drawing it.

Fumu took a step back in fear, but Meta Knight didn't care for her right now. He looked directly into Arthur's purple eyes, enraged for reasons he could no longer even begin to guess.

"Do you really want to fight me, Meta Knight?" Arthur asked almost sadly. "Did you really fall that far in the last few moments?"

It wasn't only sadness in his voice. Meta Knight hadn't realized it at first, but there was pity. That did it and Meta Knight attacked with a snarl, all injuries forgotten.

Fumu shrieked as Galaxia crashed into the sword Arthur had taken from one of the demon beasts earlier, and even despite his injuries Meta Knight felt no pain in his anger.

He pushed Arthur back at first, then he was easily overpowered after a moment. Arthur used both hands to parry Meta Knight's strike, and followed immediately with his own attack.

Meta Knight stumbled back. Arthur advanced, and before Meta Knight had had the time to block, Arthur had punched him in the face, the force of it sending Meta Knight crashing into the closest wall.

"Stop it! He is already badly injured!"

"I know, but there is no other way! He threw away all reason; there is nothing to be done for him!"

He had fallen to the ground and lost Galaxia, only still semi-conscious. But the words, they reminded him of something he himself had said not all that long ago.

_"Do you not think I would have refrained from killing him if there had been another way?_"

_"He was gone. There was no way to bring him back."_

Two people who had become demon beasts; one of his own free will, the other forced by Nightmare himself. He had killed both of them, reasoning that neither of them would ever be able to return to his former self.

Was Arthur actually correct with his assumption?

"I won't let you kill him!"

Fumu was in front of him suddenly, blocking Meta Knight's view but also blocking Arthur's.

"He attacked me! He will attack you as well if he is left alive!"

She hesitated. "He won't," she said, sounding completely convinced of her own words.

Meta Knight slowly got up from the ground, swaying dangerously on his feet. He looked neither in Fumu nor Arthur's direction, gazing unfocusedly into the distance for a moment.

He saw Arthur shift his position from the corner of his eye, weapon held in a defensive position in front of him. Meta Knight glared back at him, his eyes burning red, trying to burn Arthur with their intensity alone.

Galaxia was out of reach for him, he still had Yamikage's katana, though.

Slowly drawing the accursed weapon, Meta Knight pointed it directly at Arthur.

"Why do you insist on fighting me? And with a weapon like that no less? It is not your normal choice of weapon."

"A weapon like this? You don't know even half of it," Meta Knight noted, for some odd reason amused by the question. "_This_ was Yamikage's weapon. Wouldn't it be quite ironic if _I_ killed you with it?"

"Yamikage's?" Arthur paused, surprise evident. "So you met him again... Did you kill him?"

Meta Knight gritted his teeth in anger. "He got away," he spat, clenching his right fist around the katana's hilt.

His whole arm shook now, in a mixture of anger and exhaustion. Yamikage was another topic that managed to make his blood boil; the fact that he had managed to escape Meta Knight was enough to enrage him.

But Arthur was just trying to distract him. He wouldn't succeed.

"Enough idle talk," he growled, and instantly attacked, dodging Fumu, who was still in his way, easily enough.

Again Arthur parried, but this time Meta Knight didn't let himself be overwhelmed. He took a step back and stabbed at the Galaxy Soldier, forcing him to get out of the way.

In turn Arthur retaliated with a strike of his own, almost too fast for Meta Knight to dodge. He retreated to a safe distance, already panting hard after only a few strikes.

"You are too gravely injured, Meta Knight. Only death awaits you if you decide to continue fighting me for whatever reason you came up with," Arthur stated with an infuriatingly calm voice. He was looking down on Meta Knight again, and he hated it!

"Please stop it!"

Fumu, Meta Knight had forgotten about her. It was a desperate attempt to stop him; words wouldn't reach him now.

He attacked Arthur again, but this time he was pushed back immediately upon impact. Arthur slashed at him with his sword, and Meta Knight was unable to escape the attack. He was forced to block, what proved difficult with the katana.

His defense was easily overwhelmed, and Arthur followed his powerful strike with kicking Meta Knight away. He stumbled into the wall again, yet Arthur didn't press his obvious advantage and waited for Meta Knight to focus again.

He didn't need long.

"Don't!" Arthur shouted as Meta Knight was already in motion for his next attack, but he wasn't sure whom he meant.

Fumu was suddenly right in his way as Meta Knight had already raised his arm to strike at Arthur, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Meta Knight let go of the katana as soon as he saw Fumu, flinging it at Arthur and almost impaling him. It hit the wall right beside Arthur as Meta Knight crashed face first to the ground, barely missing Fumu.

When he tried to get back up, he instantly had Arthur's sword between his eyes, only an inch away from cutting him.

"It is over."


	27. A Gamble

**A/N: **This chapter holds several records, all of which are negative. Example? It went through most title changes (because I refused to take the obvious one), and it's the chapter I needed most time to write (you probably wouldn't believe me how long it took if I told you). It's also the chapter that went through most rewrites. I just stopped counting at some point.

* * *

**27. A Gamble**

There wasn't even hatred in his eyes.

Meta Knight had always expected hatred or amusement in his enemy's eyes as he was about to be killed. In Arthur's eyes neither was present.

He interpreted it as pity, a fact that made his blood boil and made him want to lash out with all his might, utterly destroying Sir Arthur of the Galaxy Soldier Army. Only the realization that moving would kill him stopped Meta Knight.

A slight movement and Meta Knight would either kill himself, or Arthur would stab him.

Fitting at least it was. The demon beast, the traitor, about to be killed by the righteous Galaxy Soldier, who tried to save the universe from the evil emperor's grasp. Had he not found himself in a dire situation here, he would probably have laughed at the irony.

"Any last words?"

Those words left Meta Knight unable to think for a moment. He had realized the situation as one where he might be killed, even thought Arthur capable of killing him, but had for some reason not expected him to go through with it.

Arthur's voice was unforgiving, harsh. It was the voice of someone about to kill a criminal in a public execution, asking not because of interest but only for custom's sake.

It left Meta Knight staring back at the Galaxy Soldier, realizing that now was the time to say _something_, but he wasn't able to think of anything to say.

His mind was almost blank, and the only thought he registered was that he had seriously screwed up somewhere along the way. He should have _won_ against his enemy.

He decided on glaring hatefully at the Galaxy Soldier after his initial hesitancy, figuring that it would do nothing to help him, but would be better than not reacting. He absolutely refused to answer.

Arthur's eyes narrowed when the expected response never came.

"Very well then," he whispered, barely audible. "You have made your choice, and so have I."

Meta Knight's eyes widened when Arthur took a step back and lowered his weapon, pointing it at the ground.

"You were consumed by your hatred and are a danger to both Fumu and I, however, you are correct. We still need you for the moment. I can't even begin to understand your reaction, but know this: should you attack again, don't expect any mercy from me."

It was utter contempt in his voice now, a tone Meta Knight had never heard before from Arthur. Not even when they had first met had he reacted with anything close to it.

Certainly, his arrogance had been hard to ignore, but Arthur had been more intrigued than actually hostile. They had never acted friendly around each other and it had only become worse over time, and yet it was the first time Arthur's contempt was directed at him.

Meta Knight felt exhausted all of a sudden; the anger, if not gone at least overshadowed by the feeling of utter exhaustion for a few seconds.

He had lost.

He had lost everything except for his life, and only he was to blame.

Fumu, oddly quiet for the last several moments, approached slowly, coming to a stop between Meta Knight and Arthur.

"Are you all right?" she asked, but because she hadn't used a name, Meta Knight was not sure whom she meant. Was she going to ignore the whole thing? Like she had ultimately ignored all the things Meta Knight had done?

Arthur grunted in confirmation, Meta Knight didn't show any reaction.

He finally got up from the ground again, making sure not to look at either Fumu or Arthur while he did so. What were they going to do now?

Moments later he saw that Fumu had turned her attention to him, still expecting a response. It made his anger flare up again. What kind of foolish question was that?

"_No_," he growled through gritted teeth, making Arthur tense and look at him with open suspicion. He had not sheathed the sword again and Meta Knight was well aware of it.

Meta Knight clenched his fists, ignoring the pain all throughout his left arm, and turned his full attention to Fumu. Did she realize what had just happened, or was she just glad that both of them had survived?

"Do you think I am _all right_?"

Her expression didn't even change. She had fully expected a response like this, Meta Knight realized, and of course she had. Anger was his normal reaction by now.

"No, I don't," she responded patiently, closing her eyes briefly. "You made sure of that."

He certainly had. There was no denying that although Meta Knight wouldn't admit it aloud.

One dismissive gesture later they were left with a rather uncomfortable silence, not least because Meta Knight was glaring daggers at Arthur and he did the same with Meta Knight.

"What are we going to do?" Fumu was finally the one to break the silence, her uneasiness hard to miss.

"As you certainly noticed it is no longer up to me," Meta Knight replied bitingly, unwilling to cease his antagonism although he had clearly lost. _Because_ he had lost.

"Correct," Arthur agreed while he picked up the katana that had almost impaled him earlier. He scrutinized it for a moment, then looked at Meta Knight and back at the weapon. Obviously he had no idea what to do with it, but was unwilling to give it back to Meta Knight. With good reason, although it certainly didn't improve Meta Knight's mood.

"What is it we want? You mentioned two others accompanied you, so would it be best to search for them first? Safety comes in numbers for us now, for only I am capable of fighting enemies. I suspect _Meta Knight_," Arthur emphasized his name with quite the unpleasant undertone, "will be blacking out soon enough again, although I don't dare entrust him with a weapon anyway."

Meta Knight scowled, but knew better than to make a comment. He wasn't quite sure if it was just adrenaline that kept him conscious and going, but it wasn't going to last forever.

"Yes, that's... I worry about them," Fumu said quietly, and Arthur nodded.

"We will try to find them first then." He turned his attention back to Meta Knight again. "You know this fortress best, so it is your task to lead the way."

It was not what Arthur wanted, that much was obvious, but he had little choice in the matter. He kept the katana and made Fumu carry Galaxia, ordering her to take it with the most displeased tone Meta Knight had ever heard him use.

She didn't complain, wisely choosing not to enrage the Galaxy Soldier any more than necessary. Of course Arthur was not nearly as angry as Meta Knight, but for now he was not going to do anything.

He had no doubt that death threats were over now. Next time would see one of them die.

* * *

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Of course it's a good idea! It's _my_ idea after all."

There was a pause. "But I don't think they'll... ya know, listen to _you_ of all people."

Kirby saw Joe's face adopt a mock affronted expression at Bun's suggestion that his great plan was not going to work. He had some doubts that it was going to be as easy as Joe hoped it would be as well.

Bun had stayed unconscious for a while after crashing into the wall, but he was back up again now. Kirby still worried about him, although Bun had made clear that the burns he had suffered hurt more than anything else that had happened to him.

It was surprising and Kirby had scrutinized him doubtfully, yet had been unable to prove the opposite. He acted like he normally did, if not quite as subdued as before they met Joe, but Kirby saw him grimace slightly from time to time.

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure they'll not be stupid enough not to listen to me," Joe smirked after he was done pretending to be affronted.

"Why listen to you?" Kirby asked curiously, finding the notion of demon beasts listening to Knuckle Joe of all people as interesting as ridiculous.

"Well, now that Meta Knight's offed Customer Service, control falls to me," he said while Kirby grimaced slightly. Yeah right, Customer Service was obviously no longer in charge.

"That reminds me." Joe's expression turned serious. "Nightmare knows you're here. At least he suspects it's Meta Knight's doing, though I don't think he knows 'bout you."

"Eh? That guy knows?" Bun exclaimed much too loudly into the silence.

"'Course he does. He's hella smart and dangerous. He's scary, too..." Joe trailed off, leaving Kirby with an uncomfortable feeling. Yes, Nightmare was all the things Joe had mentioned and much more.

"Anyway, the demon beasts will listen to me if I tell 'em not to attack you. Don't worry 'bout that."

Which brought them back to the original topic.

Kirby was not quite sure where they were going, but Joe was quite insistent on going where more demon beasts were to find out where Meta Knight and Fumu had ended up. He had been unable to get a sound reasoning for going where demon beasts were, though he didn't think Joe was trying to lead them into a trap.

He was certain that he would be able to stop the demon beasts from attacking them, and Kirby didn't even doubt that. He did, however, doubt that approaching Nightmare without Meta Knight and Fumu was a good idea.

Nightmare was... well, he didn't take betrayal all that well, and both Kirby and Joe had done so. Meta Knight obviously had as well, but for some reason Nightmare was quite a bit more forgiving when it came to him.

"Now, they listen to me, but I'm not sure... I think it's better if I say I defeated you and am jus' checking something before I'll throw you into prison. Checking for others, probably..."

Kirby was not sure if Joe was even talking to them, and it certainly didn't alleviate any fears they might have had.

"Joe..."

"What? Did you even think this through?" Bun exclaimed incredulously, once again much too loud.

"Ah don't worry. It's goin' to work just fine," Joe dismissed his fears easily, smiling much too brightly for a moment. "I worked for them some time now, and they're not gonna expect somethin' so..."

_Foolish_ Meta Knight would have said, Kirby was certain. Then again Meta Knight's plans tended to involve more violence, and that had not exactly done him much good...

"... smart," Joe finished, completely convinced of his plan's brilliancy. Kirby couldn't help but feel that foolish might be more fitting than smart at least.

"How?" Kirby asked after a moment, momentarily confusing Joe.

"How what?"

"Find Meta Knight and Fumu."

"Oh yeah. That's why we're going where we're goin'. You caused quite a bit of an uproar when Customer Service died, and I found ya easily. I'm sure Meta Knight was also detected by now."

Joe phrased it like that was something good, but Kirby couldn't help but feel that that was not good at all. Sure, they wanted to find the others again, but if it meant every demon beast knew their location, too... No, not good.

"But why do we have to come with you?" Bun whined, making a miserable expression.

"Do ya want to be attacked? Because that's what's gonna happen for sure if you don't come with me."

He didn't complain again after that.

* * *

It was over.

Arthur had lost his gamble, and the price was his life. Simple chance had turned everything around, giving Meta Knight the advantage if he reached only out to take it.

He started to chuckle quietly, turning louder and louder as it became full-blown laughter. If he played this right, he was going to win.

"What did you do?" Arthur bellowed, practically radiating fury as he did so.

Meta Knight had only laughter to spare as response, for some odd reason finding the situation absolutely hilarious. Didn't Arthur realize it?

Many of the surrounding demon beasts growled at Arthur's words, but Meta Knight only spared them the minimal amount of attention. As long as they didn't dare attack, they weren't worth more.

"What do you think I did?" he asked, genuinely interested in the answer. Arthur didn't miss the challenging undertone Meta Knight had used quite deliberately.

"This was a trap!" Arthur accused, and Meta Knight couldn't help himself. He laughed again.

"Are you saying that Meta Knight...?" Fumu began, already horrified at the mere suggestion. Her face was a mask of pure horror, however, as she looked at him and realized that he was still laughing, in her eyes as good as proving Arthur's accusation.

"But he..."

"I knew I should have killed you when I had the opportunity!"

"Yes, that is right," Meta Knight agreed, smirking. "But you didn't, and now it is too late."

Arthur took a step closer, his fist clenching around the katana's hilt. Meta Knight wasn't overly worried yet, although he had to admit he had counted on Arthur's honor to keep him safe. Killing an unarmed opponent was incompatible with a Galaxy Soldier's mindset.

However, Meta Knight was a demon beast, and Arthur had killed them without mercy before.

Maybe Arthur's claim of not showing him any mercy would be put to a test already?

Meta Knight doubted it. Arthur was alone against superior numbers, and even if he would reach Meta Knight before any of the demon beasts interfered, he would immediately be killed. The Galaxy Soldier didn't seem to remember this detail at the moment, but Meta Knight was more than happy to remind him of it.

"What do you think happens if I die?" Meta Knight asked conversationally, and Arthur stopped abruptly, still a few steps away from reaching him.

Meta Knight turned his back on the demon beasts blocking their way, indicating all of them with a sweeping gesture. "The only thing standing between you and death is me! They will tear you apart if I die!"

He saw Arthur look briefly in Fumu's direction and then clench his fist around the katana's hilt again. He was willing to bet his own life and sacrifice himself to kill Meta Knight, but he was not willing to doom Fumu.

Every Galaxy Soldier was easily predictable.

In any other situation sacrificing Fumu and killing the enemy would have been the smarter choice, although Meta Knight noted with some amusement how this time Arthur had chosen correctly. No demon beast would care for either Fumu or Arthur if not given explicit orders to take them alive, but it was Meta Knight who was in control.

Arthur didn't know it and certainly wouldn't believe it either, but Meta Knight did not intend to kill Fumu. It was a true Galaxy Soldier's foolish and noble attempt to save an innocent bystander with surrendering himself, completely disregarding any potential consequences of such an action.

Any other demon beast would have killed them both on principle.

The demon beasts behind him growled, not at him but at Fumu and Arthur. One particularly foolish one approached slowly and came to a brief stop next to Meta Knight. There it made ready to lunge and sink its claws into either Fumu or Arthur.

"Stand down!" Meta Knight ordered coldly, and the canine demon beast took a step back instantly.

_Yes_, perfect. They were listening to him. Maybe Nightmare had ordered them to listen to him before, but what did he care for the reason? This was almost too good to be true.

Meta Knight had not been completely sure if they would follow his orders; now he knew they would. A gamble; and while Arthur had lost his, Meta Knight had just won a second chance at the game.

He smirked when he saw Arthur and Fumu's reaction of surprise. They had thought he was lying. No, he _was_ the one keeping them alive right now; one order and both of them were going to die painfully.

"You see I was telling the truth," he remarked coldly, looking at Fumu now.

Arthur was seething silently, or at least Meta Knight expected him to do this. Fumu, however, was watching the whole situation with undisguised horror.

The devastated questions were sure to come, and Meta Knight wasn't disappointed.

"Why did you-?" she didn't even finish her question, unable to voice her disbelief properly.

"- betray you?" he finished. "My reasoning is none of your business. You wouldn't be able to understand why I did it anyway."

Neither of them would. They wouldn't believe it either, for that matter. But what did he care? He had made a selfish choice, very likely dooming them all, but it also increased his own chances of survival - for the next hour or so at least.

Fumu gasped, taking that revelation harder than anything else that Meta Knight had ever done in her presence.

"So you had planned to kill me before and didn't attack on a whim," Arthur growled, contempt unmistakable yet again. That was all right, Arthur's respect was not something he craved.

"Yes," Meta Knight replied, the lie coming easily. "Obviously I failed, but you are outnumbered now, and you will not attack me as long as that means your death and leaves Fumu alone."

Arthur glared at him and Meta Knight knew he was correct. Fumu's presence made him utterly predictable; every death threat he uttered left the Galaxy Soldier fearing for her life. Her presence was the leverage Meta Knight needed.

Without her both Arthur and Meta Knight would already be long dead.

Meta Knight chuckled quietly, visibly angering Arthur. "There is no way out." He turned his attention to Fumu, disregarding Arthur for the moment, although his next words were directed at them both. "Now, I'd like to have my weapons back."

Fumu wouldn't resist. She wouldn't dare resist after his blatant betrayal.

She looked unsurely at Galaxia, didn't look up until Meta Knight was directly in front of her. When she looked up, her expression was distraught; as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

* * *

Was this the end?

Had their fight been all for naught after all?

Why had it all turned out like this? Captured by Nightmare's forces, set free by Meta Knight, only to be betrayed and taken prisoner once again?

Arthur felt angry yet resigned. There was nothing he could do, was there? Meta Knight had won, had them in checkmate and there was no way out of their predicament. He should have killed him, he knew he should have! And yet he had shown mercy, reasoning that it was Meta Knight and not one of the normal demon beasts.

How could he have been so blind?

Meta Knight had been without weapon, defeated, and it would have been so easy to kill him. He had decided against it, and this was the reward?

Fumu didn't resist as Meta Knight took Galaxia back, just stared at him. He focused his attention on Arthur as soon as Galaxia was back in his possession and didn't notice the sad expression her face adopted.

There was momentary surprise on Fumu's face right before Meta Knight went away, approaching Arthur to demand his other weapon back.

What had Meta Knight done? Had he said something, too quietly for him to hear it?

"The katana," Meta Knight demanded when he was a few steps away from Arthur, interrupting his thoughts.

He still had Galaxia in his right hand, but didn't seem inclined to come any closer. A small victory at least.

"What are you going to do if I refuse?" he asked challengingly, not quite sure if he was digging his own grave with this question alone, or if he would be able to stall for time.

Meta Knight didn't say anything for a few seconds, was just staring at him with those cursed red eyes of his. For just a moment Arthur thought he might be able to talk to Meta Knight, distract him and then do _something_. Then he spoke, and Arthur's blood ran cold instantly.

"Kill him."

Arthur whirled around, blocking the claws of the canine demon beast that had been closest.

"No!" he heard Fumu shout.

How? How had Meta Knight been able to fool them when he had to have been on Nightmare's side from the beginning? The demon beasts obeyed him; he had to have known they would before ever setting foot into the fortress again.

But then why had he fought the other demon beasts and had almost died doing so? Nothing of this made any sense!

Without the time to draw his other weapon, Arthur was left with Yamikage's katana to defend himself. The first demon beast fell with one strike, but he was not used to the katana. Blocking attacks was much harder, and his opponents didn't attack one after the other.

Soon he was bleeding from several wounds, and although the majority of his body was protected by his armor, it wasn't going to be enough.

He had killed several demon beasts by now, but he was hopelessly outnumbered and he knew he had no chance.

As he whirled around to attack another enemy, he saw Meta Knight look at the fight in boredom, blocking Fumu's way so she wouldn't be able to interfere.

Maybe he was not _completely_ heartless then. Letting Fumu rush to her doom while trying to help him would have been much crueler.

The onslaught soon became too much, and when one demon beast rammed him, he crashed to the floor painfully. Unable to get back up he slashed wildly at anything that came too close, and miraculously all enemies backed up to get out of his direct reach.

Panting heavily he jumped back to his feet, instantly attacked again.

How long was he going to last? How much longer would he be able to survive? Did any of this even matter?

He didn't last for much longer, utterly exhausted after killing many more demon beasts than he himself had expected. He had lost the katana, as well as the sword he had never drawn, and was barely able to keep standing.

"That is enough!" someone ordered, and Arthur realized it was Meta Knight. He approached slowly when all demon beasts were out of his way, the katana sheathed on his back again.

"Do you come to kill me yourself after just watching the fight?"

Meta Knight didn't respond and continued to approach, Galaxia still in his right hand.

This was it then?

"I already have what I wanted. Your death serves no purpose other than satisfying my desire for revenge. But I did not forget what you did."

What? What had he done? What did Meta Knight mean?

When he felt Meta Knight's attack, it became clear what he meant. Meta Knight had not used Galaxia to attack.

As Arthur lost consciousness after Meta Knight had punched him, the last thing he saw were his eyes, showing no regret for what he had done.

* * *

Of course Joe's plan had backfired spectacularly. Granted, Kirby had expected something to go wrong. Something always went wrong, and in the villain's fortress that was hardly surprising.

But who could have expected to meet _him_ of all people?

"Enlighten me. How does it make sense for you to be here with your _prisoners_?"

That was a good question.

True to his word the demon beasts had listened to Joe. There had been no problem when they had first reached their destination - the command center where Meta Knight had killed Customer Service, Kirby had noted with a grimace. Naturally this was from where Joe would be able to find Meta Knight and Fumu, there was no other location from where it was possible, and Kirby should have realized that before.

He hadn't, and it had not helped that he was worried. Every demon beast had been scrutinized closely, waiting for an attack that never came. He had been prepared for them.

He wasn't prepared for Yamikage.

It felt like forever since Kirby had last met Yamikage, when in fact it had only been what? A week maybe? So much had happened in that time that it seemed much longer ago.

"Well, they're not resistin', are they? And prison's already been intruded, so it's not making sense to get 'em there, right?"

A likely explanation, although it would probably be enough for any other demon beast. Yamikage was much smarter - unfortunately.

"I see," Yamikage replied with a mocking undertone, clearly already knowing that Joe's motives were quite a bit differently. "In that case wouldn't it be best to take them directly to Nightmare?"

Bun, who had been staring at the ninja with unveiled horror before, gasped. Kirby saw Yamikage look at him for a moment, before he turned his attention back to Joe.

"I am sure he will be quite pleased that you _captured_ those two alive, after all the other intruders have met with untimely ends and cannot be questioned any longer."

Kirby was sure Bun had gasped again, but he didn't hear it.

_No_, he had to be lying.

"What do ya mean?" Joe demanded.

Yamikage was smirking, Kirby was absolutely certain of it although he couldn't see it. "They are _dead_."

His horror must be clearly for everyone to see, for Yamikage looked at him now. Oh, how he enjoyed Kirby's despair, it was impossible to miss.

"I would have liked to kill Meta Knight myself, but alas, that is no longer possible. Going on a rampage didn't do him much good," Yamikage continued, like he was talking about the weather or some other pointless topic.

Kirby had been about to deny Meta Knight's death after his initial shock, but he stopped short. No... Yamikage had to be telling the truth.

It was what Kirby had feared all along, Meta Knight going on a rampage. If he had done so... there were not many possibilities to stop Meta Knight, the surest one being to kill him.

All color drained from his face as he contemplated the implications.

Meta Knight had to have gone on a rampage; it was unreasonable to assume Yamikage was lying about that, after all he couldn't know that Kirby had feared exactly this. And if he had done so... Most demon beasts were not known for their merciful behavior or common sense.

They would have killed him, or at the very least injured him to a point where he was no longer able to fight. Yes, injured not dead, he was still alive.

But what about Fumu?

"W-what do you mean?" Bun asked hesitantly, sounding unsure about asking the ninja of all people.

Yamikage took his sweet time answering, his eyes glinting maliciously as he looked directly at Bun. "Well," he drawled, enjoying the uneasy atmosphere. "He attacked anything in sight before he was killed."

No, no, no, no, _no_!

"You lie," Kirby spoke breathlessly, unable to think of anything else to say. Maybe Meta Knight had gone on a rampage, but even then he would _never_ kill Fumu. Right?

Yamikage chuckled in obvious amusement. "Believe what you want to believe. It's all the same to me."

Joe took the conversation back at this point, realizing that neither Kirby nor Bun would be able to continue after realizing what the ninja's words meant.

"So he's really dead, huh? Good." Kirby's eyes widened as he heard Joe's dismissive tone, but reminded himself that he was just acting for the sake of keeping his cover. He didn't really mean that. "What about that other one? He wasn't alone, was he?"

"Ah yes, the other ones." Yamikage paused for several seconds, once again enjoying Kirby and Bun's despair. "He attacked everyone in sight. That included both his companions."

Kirby closed his eyes. No...

"There were two of 'em?" Joe continued surprised, and only now did Kirby realize that Yamikage had actually mentioned two. "I thought there was just one. Unless..."

"They picked up that pathetic Galaxy Soldier," Yamikage said dismissively, for some reason in a much less good mood suddenly. Kirby noticed, although he really didn't care right now.

"It doesn't matter, both the Galaxy Soldier and the girl died. Especially her screams of agony were oh so sweet to listen to."

Kirby would have attacked Yamikage at precisely that moment had Bun not been quicker.

With a battle cry and the scientist's knife in hand he charged at Yamikage, who seemed too surprised to move for a split second. Then he got over his surprise and caught Bun's arm easily.

"Oh? What do you think you can do with that little knife of yours?"

Bun struggled against the ninja's grip, to no avail.

Kirby was about to interfere when Joe took the decision from him. No, what was he doing?

"Where'd ya get that knife, huh? Should have kept it for an occasion where you're not facin' two opponents."

No, what was he doing? Why was he taking Yamikage's side now? They outnumbered him; they would be able to take him!

"Correct," Yamikage said as he slowly began to twist Bun's wrist.

"Let go! You're- Ah!" Bun let go of the knife, struggling with all his might against the ninja's grip as it fell to the ground.

This was enough for Kirby, and without a second thought, he charged.

Suddenly Joe was in his way, his expression full of regret as he punched Kirby and made him stumble to the ground. "Give it up, Kirby. Ya have no chance against both of us."

"What are you- Joe! Agh!"

Joe focused his attention on Bun and Yamikage after he was done punching Kirby, the last of his regret vanishing as he turned around.

"That's enough, ninja. He's no threat to us and no longer has a weapon."

"If you say so," Yamikage replied disinterestedly, still not letting go of Bun's wrist. "Pain is the best teacher, though, and I think he needs to learn a lesson."

He twisted Bun's wrist one last time and let go as he screamed in pain.

"Bun!"

Kirby was back on his feet again, but the warning look Joe sent him kept him firmly in place.

Bun was lying on the ground, cradling his arm to his chest. He groaned as he moved, and refused to get back up for the moment.

"Did ya have to break his wrist?" Joe asked crossly, unable to hide his anger.

Yamikage was unapologetic. "It's not broken. He got off lightly, although I think this gets the point across for now."

Kirby looked with all the hatred he could muster at the ninja. Yamikage certainly noticed, but had nothing but amusement to spare.

"Come on, your arrival has been expected for a while now."

* * *

Maybe he was a fool after all. Clearly, it had been foolish to leave Arthur alive.

Then again Nightmare would probably be most displeased if Meta Knight killed his prisoner. There had to be a reason Arthur had been kept alive in his prison cell and not killed as soon as he had been defeated.

Had Nightmare planned to...? But that was ridiculous, although Meta Knight found the irony of that thought quite amusing.

It was certainly cruel enough to have Nightmare find it amusing as well.

"Meta Knight..."

He didn't even stop when Fumu finally decided to talk to him again. In fact he had nothing to say, begging, accusing, or any other reaction she could think of were not going to change the situation.

"What is it?" He took pity on her when she didn't continue, figuring that she would try again eventually.

She was walking right beside him, too afraid to walk any closer to the demon beasts surrounding them. It was unsurprising, although Fumu knew that he was the biggest threat around.

Fumu had not said a word since Meta Knight had knocked out Arthur, who was now on the back of one of the bigger demon beasts. He was sure she had had enough to think about, his betrayal the biggest concern for her right now.

"... About what you said... when you got Galaxia back I mean... Why did you... _What_ did you-?"

Of course _that_ was what she wanted to know about. Obviously he really was a fool. It had been a mistake to say anything at all.

"You know the answer," he said harshly, making Fumu flinch back and fall a step behind.

"But then why did you-"

"That is enough," Meta Knight interrupted, looking back with narrowed eyes.

Fumu kept her silence, knowing better than to aggravate him. She took two quick steps to catch up with him, but didn't try to talk to him again.

Meta Knight was grateful for the silence, used it to concentrate on the task at hand.

The demon beasts all around didn't bother him as much as he had expected; clearly they were content with their roles as watchdogs. They had easily bent to his will, and none of them had enough of a free will of their own to disobey him.

It was one less problem and left him able to focus on the imminent confrontation with Nightmare.

He dreaded that confrontation.

That was something he would never admit aloud, but he was not above admitting it to himself. He was afraid of meeting Nightmare in person again, and with good reason.

Nightmare normally didn't forgive betrayal, and Meta Knight was well aware that that was exactly what he had done. Betrayed Nightmare.

At that time it had made sense, but now it seemed asinine, foolish to have even thought of betraying him. It didn't change the fact that Meta Knight hated Nightmare; it didn't change the fact that his betrayal had been the push Nightmare had needed to destroy the Galaxy Soldier Army either.

It was bitterly ironic how Meta Knight had been unable to crush them completely, yet Nightmare had done so after he had left. It had taken him years, but Meta Knight doubted he would have done any better.

But now both of them had won, hadn't they?

The GSA was defeated, its leader incapacitated by himself (after setting him free, but he refused to acknowledge that now). It was a chance he had to take; Nightmare was not a forgiving person, he was seeking for entertainment, however, and that was exactly what Meta Knight provided.

Certainly, in what other people would call a macabre way, but Nightmare was not one to let this opportunity pass him by. He was a cruel and twisted person, and maybe that was what made him predictable to an extent.

It was the only thing Meta Knight could count on: Nightmare's habit of playing with his opponents before he devoured them.


	28. Gambit

**28. Gambit**

He hesitated and he hated himself for it. Why hesitate now of all times?

"Leave us," he commanded with a surprisingly firm voice, and the demon beasts, which had been accompanying them, left without as much as questioning his orders. They left Arthur behind, letting the Galaxy Soldier fall heavily to the ground.

This was it, wasn't it?

Just a few more steps and Nightmare's little illusion was going to show the gigantic chess board he was so fond of. Meta Knight was absolutely sure this was where to find Nightmare, and now that he had finally reached his destination, he was all but ready to face him.

With Arthur out of commission, Meta Knight had to carry him the last few steps, Fumu watching anxiously from the side.

"Move," he told her gruffly, and hesitantly she took a few steps, stopping abruptly as their surroundings began to deteriorate and take the shape of the chess board Meta Knight had expected to see.

The metallic hallways all around them disappeared, replaced by said chess board and a disorienting mix of colors. Mostly green and red, with an odd mixture of blue and purple in between appeared, leaving all sense of reality far behind.

"W-what just happened?"

Meta Knight dropped Arthur unceremoniously, watching Fumu look around in confusion for a moment.

"It's an illusion," he replied stiffly, rather preoccupied with something other than the sudden appearance of a chess board.

"Correct," a booming voice spoke suddenly, and Meta Knight had to try hard not to flinch back.

Fumu gasped as Nightmare appeared, the Emperor of Darkness himself laughing at them as he did so.

He looked just like he had when Meta Knight had last seen him. His cloak was firmly wrapped around him for now, the stars on his cloak hiding his real body, the stars, _universe _it was made of.

It was certainly better that way; it had always unnerved Meta Knight in a way he couldn't describe.

"Meta Knight, I have been expecting you," he continued mockingly. "I told you that you were going to return to my side."

"Yes," he agreed calmly, refusing to look in Fumu's direction.

"You feel uneasy in my presence, and with good reason, Meta Knight," Nightmare laughed, and Meta Knight clenched his fists unconsciously. "You betrayed my trust, and you betrayed everything you ever fought for.

"But I am quite willing to forgive you." Meta Knight didn't reply, knowing he would have to pay the price for his betrayal.

"Kill her."

His eyes widened marginally as Fumu gasped. Nightmare laughed again, watching them amusedly. Yes, of course that was what Nightmare would ask of him. It made perfect sense, didn't it?

His gaze settled on Fumu. She was staring back with an almost defiant expression, but Meta Knight saw her fear.

"As you wish," Meta Knight replied in the most disinterested tone he could muster, looking briefly at Nightmare before he did anything. Oh how he enjoyed this: torturing those who had dared oppose him.

"What about Arthur?" he added as an afterthought, wondering if Nightmare had actually planned anything for him.

He lay motionless on the chessboard, on one of the light squares to be exact. It was certainly ironic how Meta Knight had dropped him exactly there and stood on a black square himself.

"Leave him for now. His role is not over yet."

Meta Knight nodded and focused his attention back on Fumu. He should have expected that order. No, he had expected it.

Fumu was of no use to Nightmare, no use other than forcing Meta Knight to kill her and prove his _loyalty_. It was all a big joke; Meta Knight knew it just like Nightmare did. He would never have Meta Knight's loyalty again, but it didn't even matter.

He had Meta Knight, and that was all Nightmare cared for.

Nightmare had invested too much time in Meta Knight and was unwilling to let it be a waste, he supposed. The fact that watching Meta Knight right now undoubtedly entertained Nightmare was certainly of some significance as well.

Meta Knight was left with the uncomfortable choice of defying Nightmare, dooming himself to a painful death, or complying with his orders and kill Fumu. It was an easy choice after he had already betrayed her, and Nightmare certainly-

He paused in his thoughts, noting for the first time how that was _wrong_.

Betraying Arthur and Fumu had been easy, just as if he had actually planned it before. Only he hadn't. He had betrayed them on a whim, figuring that taking advantage of the situation would leave him alive.

He had to end it then, hadn't he? The ultimate betrayal of everyone who had accompanied him, killing one of their own...

It was something he would not even have considered before they had entered the fortress, which was... interesting. Of course, Nightmare was a master of manipulating others and mess with their minds, and if Meta Knight was correct, he had done so without him noticing.

That bastard!

His anger, strangely absent before, was back full force at his realization.

He had not moved from his position for several seconds, and while Fumu had taken it as a hopeful sign, Nightmare's features had turned into a slight frown.

Meta Knight began to chuckle quietly as his right hand closed around Galaxia's hilt, more electricity than usual crackling as the sword materialized.

A sacrifice.

That was what Nightmare had asked for, and although Nightmare had been sure of his victory, ultimately the decision was Meta Knight's.

How had he not realized Nightmare's manipulations before? But that was no longer the question, was it? He had fallen victim to the manipulation and brought the situation upon them.

A sacrifice then, if that was what Nightmare was asking for. A test of loyalty, testing how far he was willing to go and how deep Nightmare's manipulations ran. In that case he had little choice.

Every battle had victims and sacrifices. Some just happened to be both.

* * *

When he began to laugh, Fumu was almost sure that Meta Knight had finally lost it. He had laughed in unfitting moments before, but this... Nightmare didn't seem pleased with the situation either, and yet he was only of small concern for Fumu right now, as absurd as that sounded.

Meta Knight stopped abruptly, and as he spoke, he did so with a bitterness that was impossible to miss.

"I see," he said, but Fumu had no idea what he was talking about. Nightmare had not gone into any detail about Arthur's _role_, yet Meta Knight understood what he meant?

"Now then..." he continued, focusing his full attention back on her. "I have little choice, no? Either I kill myself or I kill you, Fumu." He paused for a moment, as if to think about his words. "Who do you think I chose?"

Her mouth was dry as she tried to speak. His attitude had changed suddenly, but not for the better.

"Me..." she managed to whisper, and noticed that Meta Knight looked away for a moment.

"Correct," he replied as he looked back at her and slowly approached, holding Galaxia in a way that had it scrape the chessboard with an unpleasant sound. He had done this in the past as well, but Fumu had never bothered to ask him why.

Fumu waited for him without moving away, finding the situation too surreal and _horrible_ to do anything but stare at him. Why? This couldn't be real. Meta Knight had not killed her before, but now he did, on Nightmare's orders?

"Why?" she asked him desperately when he had almost reached her, suddenly finding the ability to back off.

"Reasons no longer matter. I told you I would kill you before, didn't I?"

How would she ever forget that? He had made his thoughts on the matter quite clear back then, and obviously she had given him enough reason now.

Her back hit one of the chess pieces, the black knight she saw as she briefly looked up, and Meta Knight had come too close for her to get around it without getting directly in his way. This was not good.

"But why do it on Nightmare's orders?"

Meta Knight paused for a moment and then actually shrugged in response. Fumu wasn't sure if she had ever seen him shrug before now.

"It doesn't matter. The order is irrelevant. What do you care for my reasons? Don't presume to understand me even if I tell you, you never did."

"I understand that you're not evil."

Somewhere in the background Nightmare laughed at her words, but Meta Knight did not. She had told him this before, but to tell him again now certainly left more of an impact - at least that was what she had hoped.

"Is that so?" he whispered barely audible, surely too quiet for Nightmare to hear him. "You are mistaken, Fumu," he continued louder, "I _am_ what people like you consider evil."

When he let Galaxia drop to the ground, Fumu was utterly surprised for a second. It changed to utter panic when she experienced why he had done it.

Her back was pressed against the black chess piece as he closed his hand around her throat painfully, preventing her from breathing instantly.

Fumu struggled with all her might, but although she was slightly taller than Meta Knight, it didn't help her. His grip was far too strong for her to free herself.

No, why this way? She had not been prepared, but she had expected him to use Galaxia. Why choke her to death when he could have aimed for instant death with Galaxia?

Her lungs screamed for air, screaming louder with every second she tried to gasp for breath but was unable to. She had closed her eyes before and opened them again now, looking directly into Meta Knight's red eyes.

They held no emotion as he was killing her, staring disinterestedly at Fumu's struggle.

Her vision began to darken and her struggle ended while she was still looking into Meta Knight's eyes, and the last thing she heard was Nightmare laughing.

* * *

Kirby had suspected, even feared where they were going from the start.

His fears were confirmed soon enough, Yamikage leading the way in an oddly good mood. The chess board, of course the chess board.

He had never been sure what exactly it was; an illusion, certainly, for when their surroundings suddenly distorted, there was no other explanation for that. But there was something... _real_ about it, and not just in the way that illusions were supposed to appear real either.

One couldn't be killed by a simple illusion, at least not if that someone wasn't completely weak-willed. Nightmare was able to do it here, and not all, who had died here, had been weak-willed, not by far.

Bun gasped, and Joe was barely able to hide his surprise as the chess board appeared. Kirby looked around warily, noting the positions of the chess pieces with some curiosity. It was an ongoing game, but did it reflect reality?

Certainly not, there were too many pieces left for that. Or did black and white pieces not represent GSA and demon beasts? In that case... No, the setup still made no sense to Kirby.

Lost in his musings, Kirby hadn't noticed at first, but someone else was already standing on the chess board. The person was disregarding them completely for the moment, and Kirby wasn't sure if that person had even noticed them.

Who was it?

"Meta Knight!" Bun suddenly gasped, and Kirby's eyes widened in surprise. Yes, it really was Meta Knight!

Which meant Yamikage had lied after all...

Meta Knight focused his attention on them, turning just slightly so they only saw his right side. Kirby sensed it instantly, something was wrong. He stiffened, and Yamikage and Joe became tense.

"You're alive!" Bun continued, overwhelmed with relief for a moment and oblivious to the others' reactions. "The ninja told us you're dead, but he lied." He grinned briefly and looked around. "Where's Fumu?"

In that moment Meta Knight decided to turn fully in their direction, revealing the state he was in. Bun gasped when he saw all the blood, and Kirby couldn't help but gasp as well.

What had happened to make him look like this?

"M-Meta Knight?"

"Yes," he replied disinterestedly, barely even looking at them.

"What happened to you?" Bun exclaimed, and Meta Knight regarded him for a moment. Then he looked at Kirby, Joe and Yamikage, his eyes narrowing slightly when he spotted the ninja.

"More than you can imagine," he replied cryptically, a little anger in his voice now.

That was good. Anger was better than the lack of emotion before, but Kirby felt fearful for some reason he couldn't quite name yet.

Joe and Yamikage had to have similar feelings, for neither of them had spoken yet.

"Where's Fumu?" Kirby asked again, but Meta Knight didn't answer.

Instead, laughter sounded from all around them, reverberating throughout the whole space. _Nightmare_, Kirby recognized it immediately.

"I have been expecting you. All of you."

He grinned down at them, finally choosing to reveal himself, his cloak firmly wrapped around him.

"Now, we are still missing one person," Nightmare continued, still grinning slightly.

Fumu, they were missing Fumu! Kirby wanted to shout it, but didn't dare in Nightmare's presence for some reason. No, he had said one person was still missing, and Nightmare wouldn't continue this conversation without that person's presence.

"Meta Knight," he said, and Kirby saw the displeasure in Meta Knight's eyes now. What was going on here?

He turned away from them, his cape billowing behind him as he approached another figure. Kirby had not noticed it before, but someone was lying on the chess board, completely unmoving even as Meta Knight approached.

Meta Knight bend down to pick the as of yet unknown stranger up, but then thought better of it and simply dragged him mercilessly and without care across the board. As they came closer, Kirby saw the golden armor the stranger was wearing and remembered the Galaxy Soldier Yamikage had mentioned. That had to be him.

The Galaxy Soldier was thrown roughly to the ground, groaning as he hit it, and Meta Knight followed with a kick, making sure that the guy was actually conscious. He seemed quite disoriented for a moment, giving Meta Knight the time to back away, closer to Nightmare.

No, this was wrong!

As the Galaxy Soldier slowly sat up, revealing several small injuries he had suffered, Yamikage finally decided to snap out of his stupor and slowly approached Nightmare and consequently Meta Knight.

They eyed each other warily for a moment before Yamikage decided to speak, back to his usual insufferable self.

"I see you are still alive," he said, eyeing both Meta Knight and the one on the ground for a moment. "How unexpected."

Kirby narrowed his eyes in anger. That filthy liar!

"You said they're dead!" Bun exploded beside him, oddly enough with Joe as the voice of reason.

"Calm down," he whispered, a completely pointless gesture seeing as everyone had noticed Joe's true feelings on the matter by now.

"I lied," the ninja replied dryly, and Kirby would have liked nothing more than to wipe the smirk he knew was there off his face. Unfortunately it was a bad idea to try this without acquiring a copy ability first.

Meanwhile the Galaxy Soldier was standing again, taking the situation in with poorly veiled distaste in his eyes. It was mostly directed at Meta Knight, and surprisingly enough only to a lesser extent at Yamikage and Nightmare.

Nightmare himself was not interfering yet, enjoying the show they were putting on, hovering in the distance and out of reach.

Then the soldier turned around and looked at them.

"You must be Kirby and Fumu's brother. And..." He looked at Joe, clearly confused now. "You look like..."

"It's that Star Warrior's son," Yamikage offered. "The one Meta Knight killed."

He seemed almost disappointed when neither Joe nor Meta Knight reacted to his statement.

"I'm Knuckle Joe," he said forcefully, glaring at the ninja for a moment. "Who're you?"

"I am Sir Arthur. I am... was the leader of the Galaxy Soldier Army."

Oh. Well, that was unexpected. It certainly explained why Nightmare had... insisted that Meta Knight wake him up, but Kirby failed to see the purpose any of them had right now. He was loathe to admit that Nightmare had the advantage although he was outnumbered, but that was only because Meta Knight-

How could he have ignored that?

Because Meta Knight had followed Nightmare's order. The unnamed fear from before, he had sensed that something was wrong and now he knew what it was. Meta Knight had followed Nightmare's order, admittedly displeased, but he had followed it nonetheless.

No, why was this happening?

"Meta Knight?" Kirby spoke into the silence that had ensued after Arthur's introduction, and all eyes turned to him. "What... what happened?"

Nightmare replied in Meta Knight's stead, a horrible occurrence in itself, and Kirby almost didn't comprehend his words.

"Do you not see it, Kirby? The girl didn't want to accept it either."

The girl...

"Fumu..." Kirby whispered in horror, completely missing Meta Knight's displeasure at Nightmare's observation. Instead, he stared at Nightmare, trying but failing to ask a relevant question.

"You," Arthur growled at Meta Knight. "What happened to her?"

Again it was Nightmare who responded, obviously amused by the happenings. He felt secure in this realm, certain in his belief that he was invincible.

"You all realized it by now, didn't you?" Nightmare laughed again, that horrible sound sending chills down Kirby's back. "Meta Knight betrayed you."

The deathly silence that followed belonged to the worst moments of Kirby's life. No, he had to be lying!

But Kirby knew it was the truth, had reached the same conclusion, and had only been too afraid to say it aloud. What other reason was there for Meta Knight to be calmly standing in the same room as Nightmare?

"Answer the question, Meta Knight!" Arthur was the first to speak again, taking the revelation obviously better than the others. In fact he didn't seem surprised, and Kirby could only guess that it was Meta Knight who had knocked him out.

"I refuse to answer your questions," Meta Knight remarked, not quite able to pretend to be disinterested in the happenings any longer. "You wouldn't like the answer," he added coldly after a few seconds.

While Bun gasped, having caught on to what exactly Meta Knight was saying, Yamikage began to chuckle quietly. Kirby didn't think he knew what had happened here and had just lied on principle about what Meta Knight had done, but the irony was certainly not lost on him either.

That meant if Meta Knight had actually killed Fumu. Just thinking about it made Kirby sick.

"Impressive. What did you do?"

Meta Knight visibly had to restrain himself from attacking Yamikage.

"Do you think I will tell you if I refuse to tell him?" he asked dangerously, but Yamikage didn't seem impressed. Instead he turned to Nightmare, who surprisingly enough told them what Meta Knight had refused to say.

Kirby wished he hadn't.

"He killed the girl."

Joe cursed, Bun and Kirby gasped. Meta Knight himself clenched and unclenched his fists.

It was Arthur who showed the most extreme reaction. He couldn't have known her for more than a few hours.

"Meta Knight you bastard!" he shouted, more than angry. "Do you realize what you did?"

Kirby didn't care. He didn't care for the answers Meta Knight was unwilling to give anyway. Bun was sobbing quietly; Joe had taken position in front of them, his face a mask of anger. Kirby felt like crying, but found himself unable to do it.

Arthur continued to shout when Meta Knight failed to reply immediately. Kirby doubted he would have said anything that would explain his actions.

"It is only thanks to her that you are still alive! She trusted you and that is the only reason I didn't kill you! Do you have any idea how much she actually cared for you? Do you realize the extent of your sin?"

Meta Knight had closed his eyes halfway through Arthur's accusations. Nightmare and Yamikage might find their game entertaining, but Meta Knight looked utterly defeated for a second.

"Yes," he replied with his eyes still closed, "yes and yes. Yes to all three questions you asked." He opened his merciless red eyes again, staring at Arthur. "I realize it, Arthur. But I committed other atrocious sins in my life; do you think killing Fumu is the worst I ever did?"

No one knew what to respond and it was Nightmare who broke the silence again. He seemed pleased with the happenings, much more so than Kirby had ever seen him after Meta Knight had left him.

"You see now it is useless. Everyone who is left to oppose me is you four. No one ever came closer, but this is as far as you get."

"We still outnumber you..." Joe mumbled quietly, but not quietly enough. Nightmare heard him.

"That is correct, Knuckle Joe. However, do you think I did not factor in your betrayal? I was aware of your intentions from the beginning and prepared accordingly. Let me even the numbers."

Nightmare had barely finished talking when a roar sounded in the distance. He had summoned one of the demon beasts before, and although Kirby had been positive that it was impossible to get any worse after Masher, spotting Kirisakin was no way to reassure him of that.

The huge ape-like demon sprinted in their direction and stopped next to Yamikage as it arrived. The horn on its forehead, the clawed feet, and the scythes it had instead of hands, all of those made for deadly weapons.

Yamikage seemed to approve of Nightmare's choice, but Meta Knight seemed almost horrified before it turned into burning anger. Kirby had seen his motion to draw Galaxia, but he had thought better of it.

Arthur's reaction was similar, although he obviously had no weapon. So they had both met Kirisakin before then, Kirby concluded. Maybe at the same time even? Kirby knew Kirisakin had been the one to guard Galaxia, and obviously it was now in Meta Knight's possession. Had Arthur and Meta Knight both been on the mission to reclaim it?

"Now the numbers on each side are the same," Nightmare mocked. "A fair fight if you are foolish enough to attack."

Surprisingly enough Nightmare seemed to consider something, and a moment later, a sword appeared directly in front of Arthur. He jumped back in surprise and eyed the weapon warily, but Nightmare just laughed.

"Now it is a fair fight."

Arthur took the sword hesitantly, not trusting Nightmare but seeing no other way to defend himself. The sword seemed real enough, although Kirby had to admit he was not sure where exactly it came from. Was it an illusion or was it reality?

But what did it matter anyway? Fumu's death was bitter reality, the question if a weapon was real or not didn't compare.

"Get a grip, Kirby!" Joe shouted when he noticed his forlorn expression.

Yeah, that was right. Now was not the time to despair. There would be time to sort this out, later.

"Do you really want to fight us?" Yamikage asked in a bored tone, suggesting that he was not taking this seriously. It provoked Joe instantly.

"Kirby, inhale!"

Kirby was taken by surprise, but had just enough time to inhale the attack Joe had aimed at him. He acquired his fighter ability once again, feeling better and not quite as helpless as before.

"We have little other choice," Arthur stated grimly, still referring to Yamikage's question. Kirby agreed. What other choice did they have? Nightmare wouldn't just let them go, and now that they had reached him, Kirby didn't want to go without actually trying to kill him. Too many people had died already.

"Suit yourselves," Yamikage responded, slowly drawing the katana on his back. Meta Knight had also drawn his weapon, albeit with much less enthusiasm than the ninja.

He stood behind Yamikage and Kirisakin, and Kirby saw Meta Knight first look at Yamikage and then at Kirisakin with narrowed eyes. His fist clenched around Galaxia's hilt, and then Kirisakin shot forward at the same time that Joe did.

Joe dodged the demon beast's slash and punched it, without doing any damage.

He backed off and dodged another attack, trying to get some distance between them again. Kirisakin was fast, though, and only Arthur's interference gave Joe enough time to attack from a distance.

"Vulcan Jab!" he shouted at exactly the same time that Arthur dodged to the side, and Joe's attack hit the demon directly in the face.

Kirisakin, quite unfortunately, didn't seem too impressed, and Arthur circled around it while it had focused its attention on Joe.

"Look out!" Kirby shouted when he noticed the danger Arthur was in, making the Galaxy Soldier get out of the way of the shuriken Yamikage had thrown at him from a distance. They missed Arthur, but almost hit Joe, who had been about to attack again. He rolled out of the way, closer to Kirisakin, which lost no time and attacked with its scythes.

He cursed as the demon beast came a little too close to cutting him, but retaliated instantly when he saw his chance.

Arthur meanwhile had managed to engage Yamikage in close combat, preventing the ninja from throwing any more weapons at him for the moment. Yamikage was on the defense, but Kirby didn't doubt for one second that the ninja would be able to turn the situation around in his favor if Arthur made a mistake.

The only ones not fighting were Meta Knight and himself, Kirby realized suddenly, and with horror he realized that it meant that he would be the one to fight Meta Knight.

So far Meta Knight had just been watching Joe fight Kirisakin and Arthur fight Yamikage, but now his attention had focused on Kirby.

His red eyes held no emotion as he looked at Kirby, not even the anger he had displayed only minutes before. Kirby felt his resolve waver as he stared back. He couldn't fight Meta Knight, regardless of what he had done.

Unfortunately Meta Knight left him no choice if he didn't want to die, and Kirby was only barely able to get out of the Sword Beam's path. His eyes widened.

This attack could have killed him. Meta Knight _was_ aiming to kill him. Like he had killed Fumu.

"Vulcan Jab!" Kirby heard himself shout, without realizing that he was attacking Meta Knight at first. Meta Knight easily sidestepped his attack, and only when he retaliated with a sickly dark green, almost black Sword Beam, did Kirby realize what he had done.

Meta Knight's attack decapitated the white pawn behind Kirby, its head landing with a resounding crash on the chess board. It was like a starting signal for Kirby.

"Spin Kick!"

Meta Knight dodged to the side this time, but was instantly faced with Kirby's next attacks. He dodged those as well, approaching Kirby to fight him in close combat.

Knowing full well that he couldn't let this happen, Kirby jumped back, simultaneously firing another few Vulcan Jabs at his opponent.

With another chess piece directly in his way and too little time to stop and turn around, Meta Knight surprised Kirby with the artistic way he chose to get around being hit. He jumped at the chess piece, a black pawn this time, using it as a stepping stone to get higher and above Kirby's attack.

While he was falling, he fired another Sword Beam at Kirby, effectively preventing him from using Meta Knight's vulnerable position in the air to his advantage.

As Meta Knight landed on the ground again, Kirby briefly looked around. Neither side had been able to overpower the other, and except for Yamikage bleeding slightly Kirby didn't notice any new injuries either.

His carelessness cost him, for Meta Knight was suddenly right next to him.

"Pay attention!" he shouted as he slashed horizontally at Kirby's face, cutting his left cheek as he hastily got away.

Kirby backed off several meters, figuring that a greater distance to Meta Knight might not be the worst of ideas. He wiped the blood away, noticing to his displeasure that it was of little use.

How could he have underestimated Meta Knight of all people? Sure, he was injured and actually quite badly at that if the by now dry blood was any indication, but it was _Meta Knight_.

The same Meta Knight who had killed Fumu.

Kirby expelled the breath he hadn't even noticed he had been holding slowly. That was right. He had to defeat Meta Knight.

He wasn't under any delusions; he would have died had Meta Knight not shouted at him and alerted his attention to the fact that he was about to be cut in two. Kirby didn't expect it to happen a second time.

Meta Knight moved much quicker than expected again, but this time Kirby didn't let himself be distracted. He jumped back, firing a Smash Punch as he did so, one that Meta Knight didn't even try to dodge.

Instead he cut through it, Galaxia glowing with that sick dark green light as he did so, and continued his assault undeterred. Kirby had not expected that, and when Meta Knight came too close, he was lucky to have yet another chess piece in his way.

He copied Meta Knight's earlier move of using the chess piece as a stepping stone, hearing the satisfying sound of Meta Knight missing him and smashing part of the chess piece instead.

Meta Knight proved unpredictable again when he used it to his advantage and threw one of the pieces at Kirby. He ducked under it, but heard that someone else had been hit with it instead.

Whirling around and moving away immediately, Kirby saw that Meta Knight had hit Arthur, providing Yamikage with some time to get away from close combat and create a distance that was more to his advantage.

Certain in his belief that Meta Knight followed him, but taking the chance anyway, Kirby attacked Yamikage before he was able to throw any of his weapons at Arthur.

"Vulcan Jab! Vulcan Jab!"

One attack at least hit the ninja, and spinning around he expected to receive punishment in form of Meta Knight's attack for helping Arthur.

Meta Knight had focused his attention elsewhere.

Arthur was blocking a strike from Galaxia, his arm shaking with exertion already. Meta Knight was going to win their struggle, and as soon as Kirby realized this, he tackled Meta Knight to the ground.

Lying partially on Meta Knight's arm was probably what saved Kirby, because it made Meta Knight kick him instead of stabbing him.

A shuriken was stuck in the ground right beside Meta Knight as Kirby crashed into Arthur, sending both of them stumbling a few steps. It would have hit either Kirby or Meta Knight had Meta Knight not kicked Kirby away and rolled out of the way himself.

"Were you trying to hit me?" Meta Knight asked Yamikage dangerously, glaring at the ninja.

"We are on the same side now, aren't we? Why would I try to hit an ally?" the ninja returned innocently, or at least as innocently as he could manage. Meta Knight's eyes narrowed in response.

Their discussion was interrupted when a crash sounded as another chess piece was destroyed, the white king this time. Kirby couldn't help but feel it was depressingly symbolic for exactly this piece to be destroyed, and he hoped it was not some kind of bad omen.

Joe dodged out of the way as Kirisakin attempted to strike at his head, cursing the demon beast loudly for its attacks.

Arthur and Meta Knight decided to attack at the same time, their weapons clashing loudly as they tried to overpower each other. Seeing that Meta Knight would be winning this round without interference, Kirby did exactly that.

This time he attacked from a distance, hearing to his surprise a second voice shout the same words.

"Vulcan Jab!"

Meta Knight was forced to abandon his attack in favor of dodging Joe and Kirby's attack, retreating just as far as he needed to get out of the way.

It was a mistake, for Arthur followed with his own attacks instantly, forcing Meta Knight to try and dodge or block his strikes. One strike managed to get around his defense, but did no damage as Arthur only hit his mask. It was enough to make Meta Knight realize that backing off again wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Yamikage provided distraction in form of two shuriken, one thrown at Arthur and the other at Kirby, but it wasn't enough for Meta Knight to escape unscathed.

Joe had reached them, Kirisakin close behind, and thrown himself at Meta Knight, punching him in the face and sending both of them crashing to the ground.

Kirisakin had used the time to focus on a new opponent as well, slashing both its scythes rapidly at Arthur, who had some trouble blocking the attacks. Kirby tried to help him, but was assaulted by Yamikage, who suddenly appeared next to him.

He slashed the katana at him, but missed. Kirby answered with a Smash Punch, sending the ninja flying a few feet and crashing painfully to the ground. It gave Kirby the time to turn around in the others' direction, finding to his surprise that they were all fighting in close combat right now, Arthur and Joe having teamed up to defeat Kirisakin and giving Meta Knight a dangerous amount of freedom.

Arthur was blocking both scythes with his sword while Joe used his attacks to hit Kirisakin repeatedly, making the demon beast growl at them in anger and pain.

Kirby watched everything after that unfold with horror.

Kirisakin backed off a step, snarling in anger as it slashed its scythes at Arthur as it did so. He dodged, managing to get out of the way in time. Joe was its next target as it brandished the scythes without even trying to aim.

Meta Knight had chosen exactly that moment to attack as well, trying to reach Arthur out of the demon beast's shadow. Kirisakin missed Joe a few times, getting angrier at each missed strike, and when it finally hit someone, it was not Joe.

He had to have seen the danger; in fact Kirby was sure that Meta Knight had even backed off a step.

It didn't help him as time all around Kirby seemed to freeze and Kirisakin's scythe pierced Meta Knight between the eyes.

The demon beast jerked it out immediately, hardly noticing that it had just hit, _killed_ an ally.

Joe backed away and Kirisakin followed.

Meta Knight's eyes were slightly widened as he dropped Galaxia to the ground, blood pouring out of the wound.

_No_, why was all of this happening?

Meta Knight fell.


	29. Reality

**29. Reality**

Kirby was paralyzed, unable to look away from Meta Knight's fallen form. He barely heard Joe shout, barely heard Kirisakin's roars. All of that was unimportant now that Meta Knight had died.

Why?

Why did Fumu and Meta Knight both have to die? Why had Meta Knight killed Fumu?

Now he would never have the answers.

He barely noticed that he was crying by now, only noticed when his vision began to blur and a sob escaped him.

No, no, no, no. _No_!

Why had it come to this, what had they done wrong? What had they done wrong to make Meta Knight-

Something crashed to his right.

Kirisakin had destroyed something, but Kirby didn't care. Kirby didn't care how many chess pieces the demon beast destroyed, he didn't care if they were all destroyed!

Taking one last look at Meta Knight, Kirby turned away, wiping the tears away shakily. Meta Knight was dead, but there were others still alive and they needed his help. He had let down Fumu, and by extension Meta Knight, but he was not going to let Joe, Arthur, and Bun down.

They counted on him to support them, and now that it was only Yamikage and Kirisakin, Kirby knew they would be able to defeat them.

Arthur struck at Yamikage, the elusive ninja dodging the attack easily. Joe didn't have much more luck with Kirisakin either, the demon beast putting him on the defense and attacking him relentlessly.

Now was the time to act and use their two on one advantage. Kirby hesitated briefly and then decided on helping Joe; he probably needed the help more than Arthur did.

Disregarding Arthur and the ninja, hoping that Yamikage would not be able to outsmart the Galaxy Soldier, Kirby focused all his attention on Joe and Kirisakin. They had defeated Masher together; they would also be able to take this opponent as well!

"Smash Punch!" he shouted as the demon beast turned its back on him, hitting the right side of its head. Its attack missed Joe clearly, who took advantage of the situation immediately.

"Spin Kick!"

His attack hit the head as well, and the demon beast stumbled slightly. Now was their chance!

"Smash Punch!" they shouted in unison, and again both attacks hit.

Kirisakin roared in pain, but was far from defeated yet. It slashed its scythes at Joe, who was unable to evade in time. Another bloody gash appeared on his cheek, right under the small cut Bun had inflicted earlier, and Joe backed off before the demon beast had the time to land another, more precise hit.

He cursed as he wiped the blood away with an angry expression.

"Let's do this, Kirby!"

Kirby barely had the time to nod before Joe attacked again.

"Smash Punch!" he shouted, followed by Kirby's own attack only two seconds later.

This time Kirisakin dodged, unfortunately getting closer to Kirby like this, who hastily took a step back and out of its reach. The demon beast followed, slashing its scythes at Kirby as it did so. He ducked and moved to the side, distinct marks of Kirisakin's attack left were he had been barely a second ago.

"Spin Kick!" Joe snarled from behind the demon, hitting the back of its head and making it stumble forward. And still it was not enough to bring it down!

It jumped at Joe just as he landed on the ground again, headbutting him into the closest black pawn with a resounding crash.

"Joe!" Kirby exclaimed as Kirisakin turned in his direction, a creepy grin adorning its face.

After that Kirby had little time to worry about Joe's wellbeing, was much more focused on not being butchered by his opponent. All the hits they had landed had not slowed Kirisakin down in the least, had in fact only enraged it to a point where it didn't care for any more hits they landed.

Much to Kirby's despair he didn't have the time to retaliate either, and was hard-pressed to keep dodging strikes for the moment.

If he just had a different copy ability!

With the fighter ability he was unable to block any attacks, and his own attacks didn't seem to faze the demon beast either! If just-

He took a daring jump to the front, finding himself right under his opponent suddenly. Thinking fast, Kirby used the opportunity he had so recklessly given himself to attack a hopefully more vulnerable spot. Seriously, attacking the head had not done too much damage, and if attacking the stomach didn't help either, Kirby had no other ideas where to hit.

"Smash Punch!"

He rolled out of the way when a scythe came down at him.

No, what was he supposed to do now?

His attack had hurt the demon beast, there was no mistaking it, but it only fueled its anger. They had been utterly incapable of causing any lasting damage, whereas Kirisakin had managed to cut Joe and have him crash into a chess piece.

Kirby himself had been spared any of the demon's hits so far, but like this there was nothing that would stop Kirisakin from injuring and ultimately killing him.

What he needed was another copy ability, preferably one with which he was able to block the demon beast's attacks. A sword ability would be perfect, but he could hardly take Arthur's weapon to obtain it, could he?

He could think of one other way to obtain a sword, but just thinking about it made him feel sick.

Meta Knight no longer had any use for Galaxia, but Kirby just couldn't take it. It would be like accepting the fact that Meta Knight would never again be able to use it, and right now Kirby just couldn't accept that. He doubted that Meta Knight would want Kirby to have it after he had tried to kill him with it as well.

Dodging yet another attack, Kirby saw a movement from the corner of his eye, making him breath a sigh of relief. Joe was up again, and even if there was no small amount of blood running down his forehead, he was at least not swaying on his feet and didn't look nearly as bad overall as Kirby had feared.

"You alright?" he asked when Kirisakin's attention was on Joe for a moment.

Joe grumbled something in response, but that was as good as Kirby would get from him. Then he directed his attention at the demon beast.

"Ya seriously piss me off," Joe growled, and Kirby silently agreed. Kirisakin seemed unimpressed, but then again it had only reacted with anger when their attacks had hit it. Not even Meta Knight's death had fazed it in the least and that although it had been the one to kill him.

It attacked with a roar, sending Kirby and Joe dodging in different directions.

"Vulcan Jab!" they shouted, but Kirisakin didn't even bother with dodging their attacks. What was wrong with it? Not even Masher had lasted this long although it had always been said to be the strongest demon beast!

Focusing its attention on Kirby, he couldn't help but panic for a moment. Why were they unable to defeat it?

"Smash Punch!" he exclaimed only a split second after Kirisakin attacked him, but it was still too late.

Kirby had not expected an attack like that, had expected Kirisakin to be nothing more than a close range fighter. Sadly, he was quite wrong in his assumption, and what he would call two Sword Beams (although they obviously weren't; Scythe Beams more likely) were headed directly for him.

They crashed into his own attack, creating a much bigger explosion than he had expected and also much too close for Kirby to dodge.

"Kirby!"

He was thrown back, hitting some chess piece on his way and finally landed painfully on the ground, much farther away from Joe and Kirisakin than he would have thought possible.

Well, damn it. Kirisakin had been able to unleash an attack like that? What else was it able to do?

Struggling to get back up, Kirby looked around dizzily. He was no longer able to see any of the others, the chess pieces preventing his view.

Shaking his head, trying to clear it that way, Kirby abruptly stopped when he saw something after all, or rather someone. That couldn't-

He approached in a daze, walking closer to one of the black knights. Someone was lying on the ground, and Kirby paled when realized there was only one person it could possibly be.

* * *

Damn it...

He had screwed up, hadn't he?

He heard a crash, probably Kirisakin destroying another chess piece, but as long as they stayed close to his current position that didn't matter. It didn't matter as long as they only stayed away from _that_ piece.

Meta Knight felt blood pouring out of the wound Kirisakin had inflicted, felt it pooling under him already. Like this he might actually die of blood loss this time; he had recovered at a ridiculous rate from the other injuries he had thought were going to kill him, but all of those might be a little too much.

How pathetic to be the first to be incapacitated, and by an _ally_ as well. He should have been the one to triumph, and maybe, just maybe all of this might actually have worked.

He cursed himself for his own mistakes, enraged how it had ended this way. He had so obviously betrayed them and actually fooled Yamikage and Kirisakin to a point where they were at least willing to fight on his side, and still he had failed spectacularly!

Meta Knight opened his eyes, seeing nothing but the blood he was lying in. Good, he hadn't lost consciousness yet, that was a start. Or had he and was just not aware of it?

Nightmare had left them to fight on their own without any interference, but how long was that going to last, now that his own side had lost one of their players? Meta Knight was sure Kirby, Joe, and Arthur would be able to win in a three on two, even if Kirisakin and Yamikage were dangerous opponents.

They should have been killed before this fight had started, but Meta Knight had hesitated for no reason he was able to explain.

His hesitation had forced him to fight Kirby and almost kill him.

He slammed his fist to the ground in anger.

This had escalated to a point where nothing mattered any longer. So what if Nightmare realized that he had betrayed him as well? What did it matter now?

"Kirby!"

Joe's shout made Meta Knight raise his head in alarm, ignoring the feeling of vertigo. What had happened?

Joe attacked Kirisakin recklessly, but Meta Knight was unable to spot Kirby from his position. No, had he condemned Kirby to an early death with his decision to place revenge above all else?

Gritting his teeth he got up completely, picking Galaxia up almost in passing and ignoring the blood that splashed to the ground.

Meta Knight took a step in Joe, Arthur, Kirisakin and Yamikage's direction, only to notice that it was not going to work. He was never going to reach them.

He staggered as he tried to take another step, and Meta Knight saw only one chance.

The Sword Beam he released was not aimed at any of them. Meta Knight didn't care whom he hit any longer. As he fell again, he just wanted to hit anyone.

* * *

Time had stopped for a moment when Arthur and Yamikage both had their attention directed at what had just happened.

Arthur had not expected Meta Knight to be the first one to die. No, in fact he didn't even want him to die - yet. He wanted answers, but now he had lost his chance, and there was no one else who had the answers he wanted.

It was certainly ironic how the backstabber had ended up dead first, and if Arthur had his way, the second one was going to follow soon enough.

And yet... In a way Meta Knight's death was utterly catastrophic. Arthur was denied the answers he sought, and Kirby... Obviously there had been some people who had actually genuinely liked Meta Knight, including Kirby and-

Maybe it was better that he didn't have any answers after all.

Yamikage had not used Arthur's distraction to attack him, although that was exactly what the Galaxy Soldier had expected. He was surprised to say that the ninja was actually more distracted than himself, giving Meta Knight's untimely demise a curious amount of attention. Arthur had assumed they hated each other, and Meta Knight's reaction to the mere mention of Yamikage's name had reinforced that belief, but now the ninja seemed almost upset with Meta Knight's death.

Of course it might be a purely selfish reason, like wanting to kill Meta Knight himself.

He frowned for a moment, wondering what repercussions his death was going to have for them.

Then he was the one to attack, deciding that Yamikage would never have waited had the situation been reversed. It was underhanded, dishonorable even, but in a situation like this Arthur cared very little for that. Meta Knight's betrayal had made it quite clear that insisting on honor was only going to be his downfall.

Yamikage's split-second defense move was rather clumsy, lacking the usual precision his other moves exhibited. It was, however, enough to escape Arthur's strike without suffering any damage.

He glared, focusing his full attention on the Galaxy Soldier again.

"How unexpected. The great Sir Arthur attacks when his opponent is distracted. What comes next, attacking the innocent and defenseless?"

The ninja had a point, as loathe as Arthur was to admit it.

Obviously he was not going to attack innocent and defenseless people, but using an opponent's distraction in a duel to his advantage was not the way he usually went about doing things. Then he remembered that it was Yamikage, and it didn't seem nearly as bad as before.

Arthur didn't deign respond to Yamikage's apparent mockery, deeming it smarter to just ignore it and instead focus on actually killing his opponent. Of course it was not as easy as he would have liked.

Before Arthur came close enough to strike at the ninja, he had backed off, figuring that close combat was more Arthur's forte than his own.

It left Arthur frustrated with his inability to get close enough, and left Yamikage with enough distance between them to throw more weapons at the Galaxy Soldier.

The first kunai was easily avoided; the second one hit Arthur above his right eye. The clank of the weapon hitting his armor left him stunned for a split second, more than enough time for the ninja to think of something new.

"Fuujin no Jutsu," he stated with a bored voice although he was fully capable of using his attacks without calling their names. It was just another way of mocking Arthur, warning him of the attack that was to come in advance.

Nonetheless his attack did hit Arthur, not exactly doing any damage but pushing him back slightly. Another gust of wind pushed the Galaxy Soldier further back without any real chance of evasion.

Arthur growled in frustration, but saw no use in trying to struggle against the attack and actually try to get closer to the ninja. It would be an unnecessary waste of energy.

It would probably also have killed him.

The Sword Beam came unexpected and much too soon after the last attack. Arthur barely had the time to raise his sword (still wondering why Nightmare had even given one to him) before Yamikage's attack had reached him.

He was violently thrown off his feet, landing on the ground with a heavy crash.

"You _really_ should have killed me when you had the opportunity. Now you won't find yourself with the opportunity to do so again."

Arthur got up quickly again, glaring at the ninja, who had taken an almost relaxed stance with the katana leaning on his shoulder. He was no longer even taking this seriously!

"Arrogance will be your downfall!" he shouted back, finding himself angry mostly at his inability to injure Yamikage.

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Yamikage responded with an unmistakable air of amusement.

The insinuation was not lost on Arthur, as much as he would like to deny it. He clenched his fist around the sword's hilt for a few seconds, trying but failing not to feel angry. Then he pointed the weapon at Yamikage's face, eyeing the ninja with a grim expression.

"Let's end this then."

Yamikage was all too happy to comply.

Contrary to his former strategy the ninja actually went in close, stabbing and slashing at Arthur with his weapon.

The Galaxy Soldier parried the attacks easily enough, but Yamikage's intention was not to hit him. For some reason or another Yamikage seemed quite intent on getting Arthur closer to the other ongoing fight between Kirby, Joe and Kirisakin, and he was succeeding.

"Kirby!"

Joe's shout distracted Arthur for only a moment. More than enough time for Yamikage to use it to his advantage.

The ninja went around Arthur's defense and used his katana to stab him in the left arm, making the Galaxy Soldier cry out in pain and slash imprecisely at Yamikage. He missed clearly.

Any movement of his left arm hurt now, and he gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. Such a stupid mistake! Whatever had happened, he should have waited to find out what it was. Now he was at a disadvantage.

"Spin Kick!"

Joe and Kirisakin were close now. Yamikage seemed alarmingly satisfied with that fact, and Arthur soon found out why. He ducked away when Kirisakin suddenly turned around and attacked him instead of Joe, silently cursing Yamikage.

Now the ninja had given himself a position of power in this fight. Kirisakin seemed capable enough of fighting two opponents at the same time, and Yamikage thus had the time to just observe or attack them from behind whenever he chose to do so.

"What happened?" Arthur asked Joe in between dodging attacks, noting the blood on his forehead with some worry. Kirby was nowhere to be seen.

"Kirisakin got him," Joe responded grimly, using the distraction Arthur involuntarily provided for the demon for an attack of his own. "Smash Punch!"

The attacks stopped for a moment, and Arthur thought it might have been enough, finally. He was wrong.

Kirisakin shrugged this attack off as well, and Arthur himself didn't dare get too close. He had fought the demon beast already once, and although it had been a three on one fight, they had been unable to defeat it completely.

Yamikage chose that moment to attack Joe from behind, death only avoided by sheer dumb luck. Joe had used the same moment to jump at Kirisakin, getting him closer to the dangerous weapons it used, but having him avoid certain death in form of Yamikage's katana.

The ninja was off balance for a second, Arthur decided to use it to his advantage, Joe had punched Kirisakin and already jumped back, and Kirisakin glowered at Joe.

A second later Kirisakin was as good as dead, Joe's eyes were widened in surprise, and both Arthur and Yamikage had lost their weapons to the Sword Beam that only one person could have used.

Impossible! He was still alive?

Briefly glancing to the side, Arthur saw Meta Knight fall again. He had survived Kirisakin's attack after all, but had he survived his own attack and merely lost consciousness now? Or had the effort actually killed Meta Knight?

Arthur wasn't quite sure now if he wished for Meta Knight's death or not, for he had finished Kirisakin off. Intentional or not didn't matter in this instance, as Meta Knight didn't seem like he was going to enter the fight again.

Kirisakin was still alive, wailing in agony on the ground, but Meta Knight's attack had left fatal damage. In a matter of seconds, minutes at most Kirisakin would die, bleeding to death.

Meta Knight's Sword Beam had severed almost the complete right arm, leaving only a bloody stump. The demon beast wallowed in its own blood as it gave dreadful wails of pure agony, and Arthur found it hard to focus on something else.

Joe had even more problems, looking like he was about to throw up for a moment. Then his face took a grim expression, focusing on Yamikage instead.

Arthur followed his example, watching the ninja take the safe option of silent retreat. He had had every chance of winning, and now it was all gone. Sure, Arthur had lost the sword, but so had Yamikage. And Arthur still had an ally left.

"You are outnumbered," he stated with a grim satisfaction, watching Yamikage's every move. "Give up."

Unsurprisingly Yamikage had other plans. "Don't be ridiculous, Arthur. I admit my _team_," he looked briefly in the dying Kirisakin and Meta Knight's direction, "lost half its members, but did you forget _where_ we are?"

Arthur shifted uncomfortably now. Yes, he had almost forgotten, or at the very least ignored it. They were in a place controlled by Nightmare, and Yamikage had said he had lost half his team. That was only correct if he actually counted Nightmare on the same team, and wouldn't that make sense?

They had also been four people, three of which had fought. Bun had not participated in the fight, and neither had Nightmare for the other side.

"I see you remember now," Yamikage continued. "Which means you realize that you had no chance from the start."

"Correct," Nightmare agreed as he reappeared again. Arthur didn't know if he had been truly gone for a while, or if he had followed their confrontation from the shadows. He didn't care.

Joe next to him stiffened.

"You fought valiantly, truly befitting for the Galaxy Soldier Army's leader and a Star Warrior's son," he continued derisively. "But you cannot harm me. Your fight was hopeless from the start."

Arthur tensed. No, there had to be a way. There was no such thing as immortality.

"No."

Joe and Arthur turned around, and even Nightmare seemed surprised for a moment. Then he smiled, dangerously.

"Do you refuse to see it, Kirby? Or do you truly think you ever had a chance?"

Kirby looked horrible. Whatever Kirisakin had done to him, it had hardly left damage, if any at all. His eyes, his whole expression were what made him look horrible.

He looked haunted, as if he had realized or seen something terrible, and Arthur didn't even dare ask if he was all right. Obviously he wasn't.

"It's a lie," he replied, never once even looking at Nightmare. Instead, he stared in the vague direction of Meta Knight, and Arthur wondered if Kirby was talking to them at all.

"Let me show you one reality then. Behold my power!"

Arthur had to close his eyes when white light suddenly engulfed them all, so strong in its intensity that he was blinded. When he opened his eyes again he didn't see anything at first, suffering the aftereffects of staring into the light for just a moment.

Slowly vision returned to him, and he almost wished it hadn't.

"W-what is this? Where are we?"

He had no idea. Was this an illusion that Nightmare had created? But if so for what reason?

Yamikage took a questioning look in Nightmare's direction, apparently unsure what exactly had happened. Even Nightmare himself seemed much less certain of himself than just a few seconds ago, but he covered it quickly enough for Arthur to wonder if he had imagined it after all.

They were no longer on the chess board, not even in a place that was similar in appearance. Only the unsettling feeling of unease had accompanied them to this hostile environment they now found themselves in.

Arthur hardly dared look around for fear of _something_ happening, but did after all when nothing happened for several seconds and neither Yamikage nor Nightmare spoke.

They were in a desert. In an ice desert if his eyes didn't deceive him, but there was no biting cold, not really. There was... a remnant of the cold that had reigned this place, but although he was sure now that it was ice, it was barely any colder than it had been anywhere else in Nightmare's fortress.

Were his senses deceiving him?

Great cracks traversed the ice as far as he could tell, for even the air directly above the ground seemed to be freezing. It left him unable to see more than the ground in immediate vicinity, but he was almost certain there were cracks everywhere in the ice.

But there was more. Their surroundings weren't flat, a high cliff towering to one side with more in a greater distance, almost out of sight. The cliff was higher than Nightmare was tall in some places, towering even over him like a giant would over a normal person.

The full moon shone in the sky, casting a sallow light on them and their surroundings, and yet Arthur saw everything that wasn't obscured by the freezing air clearly. He had disregarded the light at first, but it shouldn't be possible to see much.

The sky was of the deepest black he had ever seen, leaving no room for other colors. There was only the pitch black of the sky and the gray, almost white ice. They were stranded in a world almost devoid of colors, left to despair in their world of black and white.

"How interesting," Nightmare remarked after a few seconds of tense silence, and indeed he seemed interested.

"Where are we?" Joe repeated his question as Kirby stepped closer to them, disregarding their surroundings completely. Arthur saw Kirby had lost that ability of his, and he wondered briefly why that was.

"We are in a dream, a nightmare. Meta Knight's nightmare." Nightmare's grin widened slightly as he savored their reactions to that particular piece of information. "Everyone still alive entered the nightmare I created. It is why Kirisakin did not accompany us."

"Bun..." Kirby mumbled, but Nightmare heard him.

"Ah yes, the boy. He was still alive, so he entered as well. But where did he end up?" Nightmare's grin promised nothing good. "Maybe he met Meta Knight."

"Meta Knight was almost dead," Arthur interrupted before Nightmare had more time to discourage them, fearing that even more insinuations would make them despair when their surroundings had not managed to do so yet.

"Yes, but nothing of that matters. This is a nightmare; the outside world doesn't matter here. Did you not notice that all of your injuries are gone?" he mocked as Arthur looked at himself in surprise. No, he had not noticed that, but Nightmare was telling the truth.

How could he not have noticed that?

"However, if you die in this nightmare..." Nightmare didn't finish his sentence, didn't need to. It was crystal clear what he meant.

For the first time Arthur was actually afraid.

This was just as real as their fight on the chess board had been, a reality created by Nightmare, but reality nonetheless. And if he judged the situation correctly, this wasn't all, not by far.

Why would Nightmare have them enter a nightmare if not for the sole reason of giving himself an advantage? There had to be something, something that gave him an even greater advantage than his ability to bend reality on the chess board.

"That means if we kill ya here, you'll die for real?"

Nightmare seemed amused by Joe's daring question, taking it not quite as seriously as one would expect with a question like this. His confidence was beyond the point of arrogance; he was not concerned at all.

"That is correct, Knuckle Joe. It is, however, utterly impossible for you to harm me." The grin was enough to make Joe angry, and with a sudden recklessness Arthur had not expected, he attacked Nightmare.

"Smash Punch!"

Arthur and Kirby flinched slightly, and even Yamikage twitched. Nightmare spread his arms, grinning amusedly at the useless attempt. Joe's attack hit him square in the chest, or where his chest would have been if he were a normal person. As it was, the attack just vanished in the mass of stars that made up Nightmare's body, proving his earlier statement in a depressing manner correct.

Joe stared, dumbfounded.

"You see now it is useless. Nothing you can do will harm me. I, on the other hand, don't have that restriction."

When the ice under their feet cracked, Arthur was quick to move away. Just a moment later and all of them would have been crushed by the ice fragments that rose from the ground in some places and fell in others.

"You all right?" Joe shouted from the other side of what looked like an icy forest now, the tree-like ice pillars blocking Arthur's view.

"Yes," he called at the same that Kirby did, out of breath already from just one time escaping an attack of Nightmare's.

What were they supposed to do now? It was impossible to dodge things like that for an extended period, and Nightmare still had Yamikage at his disposal as well.

The ninja seemed at least content with just watching the happenings for now, although Arthur suspected that was because he had lost his weapon prior to entering this realm. Just like Arthur, it left him with only few ways of fighting, none of which he seemed inclined to use at the moment.

That was one less problem; not that Nightmare was not more than enough already.

It didn't get better when Fumu's brother reappeared either, though that gave them a reprieve at least. Nightmare was in no hurry to finish them off and seemed more than happy to take his time.

Kirby was the first to notice him (probably still after Nightmare, though), alerting everyone else to his presence.

"Bun!" he exclaimed, sounding terribly relieved. Then his expression turned to one of alarm as he saw Bun's expression, one of despair.

"K-Kirby, what is this place?"

He sounded like he was really close to tears, looking around fearfully.

It was a frightening place, and if Arthur imagined a child to wander it alone... The horror and fear he must have felt, alone in a dark world, where the only companion was silence...

"Nightmare," Kirby replied, but Arthur saw that the boy didn't understand the true meaning. He shook his head in something like denial when looked at Nightmare for a moment, and quickly looked away.

"Now we are only missing one person," Nightmare stated, looking almost thoughtful for a moment. "He would do well to stay away, but he will not. It will be his undoing."

The statement was met with disbelieving silence from everyone including Yamikage. Nightmare was discarding Meta Knight? At least it sounded a lot like he was.

Nightmare certainly noticed their reactions. "Did you think I would openly welcome him back? No, he has outlived his usefulness. Watching Meta Knight betray you was amusing, but he betrayed _me_, and I do not forgive betrayal."

Which meant Meta Knight was doomed.

Meta Knight had undoubtedly betrayed them, placing him on Nightmare's side. If Nightmare betrayed him as well, it left Meta Knight unable to fight for either side. If he survived long enough for one side to win, the other side was going to kill him.

"That means he is fair game?" Yamikage asked, speaking for the first time since entering the nightmare.

"Not just yet," Nightmare responded dismissively, uninterested in what the ninja had to say. He focused on Kirby instead, whose eyes had widened considerably in silent horror. "This concerns you as well."

Every last trace of amusement was gone from his voice now. Nightmare was looking at Kirby, and Arthur felt like the temperature was decreasing around them. There was a cold fury, easily hidden behind the obvious amusement before, but now Nightmare had removed that mask he had been wearing.

He was beyond angry, and while most of it seemed to be directed at Meta Knight, Kirby was the only one present right now he was angry at as well. Arthur took a step back, further away from Kirby.

"Meta Knight-"

"Is not here yet," Nightmare interrupted Kirby, scowling down at him. "And until he is I will deal with you myself."

Nightmare pointed his right arm at the ice cliff next to them, surprisingly shooting electricity from his fingers. Part of the cliff exploded, debris falling down at them with alarming speed.

Joe was closest, but managed to get out of the way easily enough. Arthur was farthest away and didn't have to do much to dodge the bigger debris, but Kirby was closest to Bun and had to make sure he was all right as well.

"Look out!"

They were not going to make it!

Arthur saw the chunks of ice rain down on them and ran in their direction in an unreasonable attempt to help them, but was thrown to the ground when one of the bigger chunks landed directly in his path.

Groaning he tried to sit up immediately, barely noticing that the cold had actually increased now.

No, had they been hit?

Coughing reached his ears, and yes, _yes_ they were still alive and unharmed he saw when he got up again and approached their position. Bun was pale and shaky but _alive_, and Kirby...

"Get away..." he mumbled, looking at the ground next to Bun. Arthur wasn't sure if he meant all of them or just Bun, but Nightmare would make sure all of them stayed in his direct reach.

"What do we do now?" Joe asked when he reached them, not nearly as confident as before. No one replied, all of them with no ideas what to do against Nightmare's dominance in this arena he had created himself.

"Impressive," Nightmare's booming voice broke into the silence, the mocking undertone unmistakable. "All of you survived. But how much longer do you think you will last now that Meta Knight has arrived?"

Meta Knight.

Arthur looked up to see him standing on the ice cliff far above them, his posture exactly like Nightmare's with his cape firmly wrapped around him. His red eyes were looking down at them, seeming almost disinterested.

What was he going to do? He didn't know that Nightmare was planning his demise, and would he believe them if they told him of Nightmare's plan? Even if he did, how could they fight with him after he had killed Fumu?

His eyes sought Kirby's, and Arthur was sure that for a moment there was a silent conversation going on between the two of them. Kirby's expression was not quite as full of despair as before, but the question of _why_ was unmistakable.

Meta Knight looked away, briefly settling on all of their faces without much interest, before he stopped on Nightmare's face. He was standing even higher than Nightmare was tall and had to look down.

Arthur dimly remembered that Meta Knight had oftentimes chosen higher places to look down at other people. He couldn't help but wonder if he was doing so intentionally right now as well, and wanted a message to get across to Nightmare.

Nightmare eyed him critically, his expression threatening to turn into a scowl for a second or two. Then he grinned, obviously satisfied with the situation.

"Kill them," he spoke quietly, anticipating the confrontation with barely hidden glee.

Arthur tensed, knowing he would be unable to survive a confrontation with Meta Knight. Without a weapon he was as good as helpless, only a minor obstacle on Meta Knight's way to kill the others.

Now was the time when they had to tell Meta Knight. They had to tell him that Nightmare was betraying him, was hoping to kill all of them. Maybe they could-

"No."

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt, too surprised to follow them any longer.

* * *

**A/N:** And finally we're getting somewhere.

Next chapter will be the last one. As in the last chapter of the whole story. No epilogue, I fear.


	30. The Bitter End

**30. The Bitter End**

"No."

It was just one simple word that had so much of an impact. It was positively ridiculous how everyone reacted as if he had just declared something utterly unbelievable, shocking them all into silence.

The only one not in one way or another surprised seemed to be Yamikage. If asked for his opinion he would certainly say how he had always known Meta Knight was a traitor, not to be trusted because he would betray everyone again. Ironically, he would be right.

"No?" Nightmare asked dangerously after a few seconds, barely even hiding the fury he was feeling. Meta Knight liked his anger better than the amusement from before.

"I said that. _No_."

He was walking on thin ice here, but Meta Knight hardly cared any longer. Nightmare had chosen _his_ dream as the final stage, and Meta Knight was well aware of what that meant. Nightmare probably didn't even realize it, but, unknowingly or not, personally entering someone's nightmare always meant that someone was going to die a gruesome death at Nightmare's own hands.

However, it did no longer matter, he supposed, he was already dead after all. The timing of Nightmare's little magic trick had been a little too perfect, it seemed, for Meta Knight doubted this would have worked even a few minutes later.

Regardless of what happened here, he was dead either way.

Nightmare visibly forced himself to calm down; expression slowly turning into the standard grin his face had been sporting ever since Meta Knight had first entered his presence again. His tone was just as mocking as always when he thought himself superior.

"Are you betraying me, Meta Knight?"

Kirby, Arthur and Joe all began to speak at the same time, but a simple gesture of Nightmare's arm sent them flying.

Meta Knight watched impassively as they hit the ground.

"You are mistaken," he began calmly, sensing Nightmare's satisfaction and the others' despair because of his words. "I was never on your side. Therefore I cannot betray you."

Jumping away ahead of time had been a good idea. The avalanche of ice forced only Yamikage to dodge, and the rain of ice splinters did no damage to Meta Knight.

His cape billowed behind him as he came to a stop several meters away, facing Nightmare with an angry expression now.

"Do you think I am a fool?" he demanded, raising his voice. "Do you think that, for even one moment, I would expect you to forgive me for my betrayal? You forced me to betray them, and playing along after my realization was all I could do to have them survive until now!"

He didn't dare look at Kirby, Arthur, Joe and Bun, knowing they would never believe him.

Nightmare did believe him, frowning terribly at Meta Knight for just a moment longer. Then, leaving Meta Knight with a sinking feeling, he grinned again.

"And yet you killed the girl," he said, barely louder than a whisper. He began to chuckle as Meta Knight closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Yes, it all came down to that, didn't it? It didn't matter what he responded, this had been the ultimate betrayal either way. He supposed he should be feeling despair now, but when his arm began to shake, it was not from any feeling such as that.

He stood, with his eyes closed and his whole body shaking in silent laughter. Nightmare's chuckling stopped abruptly when he noticed, and Meta Knight's laughter took its place.

Let them think what they wanted; the laughing madman was an image that suited him just fine right now. With any luck they would even think killing Fumu and finding it amusing was the reason he laughed. Now _that_ would be amusing.

In fact even Nightmare seemed wary of him now, and that was quite satisfying. Too bad it would probably change to anger soon enough.

"Yes," he agreed calmly, enjoying Nightmare's expression immensely. "What is done is done. I cannot undo what happened, but I can still try to end it here."

"End it?" Nightmare sneered at him. "You know I am immortal. As long as there is fear in people's hearts, I cannot be defeated."

Meta Knight remained unimpressed.

He knew more about Nightmare than anyone else, and this little detail was no exception. Of course he knew that Nightmare was lying; maybe he couldn't die, but that didn't mean that he couldn't be defeated either.

"We will see," he replied cryptically as he jumped down the cliff, missing Nightmare's momentary expression of unease.

Sliding down the last few meters, never seeing the need to spread his wings, Meta Knight landed on the icy ground in front of Kirby, Arthur, Joe and Bun. He had not expected them to welcome him with open arms, far from it in fact, and he was not disappointed.

Admitting to killing Fumu had not helped his case, he noted with a sardonic grin.

Arthur and Joe eyed him grimly, Bun looked afraid, almost despaired, and Kirby-

"Meta Knight... why-?"

"Don't ask that question, Kirby," he interrupted, already knowing what he wanted to know. Answering this question truthfully now would only complicate things. Everyone's ignorance of the truth and consequent hatred for him suited Meta Knight much better right now.

"No, I want to know the answer as well," Arthur chimed in, the threat in his voice unmistakable. He didn't have a weapon, but Meta Knight saw Joe raise his fists. _His_ punches hurt; Meta Knight knew that from experience.

"I am sure you do." He eyed Joe and Arthur closely, waiting expectantly for their reactions. "But I refuse to answer."

"You no longer have the right to refuse anything! You are alone in this desert, an enemy to both sides. Do you think we will allow you to fight at our side, like nothing happened?"

"No. I think you will realize that Nightmare is the bigger threat because _I_ am already _dead_."

That stunned them into silence.

His relatively calm admission of his own demise had surprised, even shocked them. He was not sure how serious they took his words, seeing as he was obviously still alive and well. Only he wasn't.

In this imaginary world, this nightmare he was still alive, brought about by Nightmare's almost impossibly perfect timing. In their own reality he was barely clinging to life, just waiting for the inevitably end.

"What do you mean?"

Meta Knight regarded Arthur calmly for a second or two. "Exactly what I said."

Arthur seemed still furious, if much less than before. Joe had his fists raised, ready to attack. Bun made sure to look anywhere but at Meta Knight. Kirby looked at him with pleading eyes. Meta Knight ignored them pointedly, looking in another direction.

Nightmare, certainly suffering some disappointment because Meta Knight had not been attacked, took Meta Knight paying attention to him as his sign to continue.

"You know it is futile, Meta Knight!" he spat, and for the first time in a long time did Meta Knight see him lose his composure. He was repeating himself, a sure sign that he was worried, if only a little.

Certainly Nightmare remembered that Meta Knight knew much more than he was comfortable with, and while that might be to his advantage, chances were just as high that it would make him Nightmare's first target.

Surprisingly, nothing of the sort happened. Nightmare hesitated for a while longer, so long that Joe took matters into his own hands.

"Kirby!" he shouted, his voice terribly loud in the silence of the ice desert.

"Joe, wait!"

He didn't.

"Vulcan Jab! Smash Punch!"

Kirby was taken by surprise, barely inhaling the attack in time to acquire his fighter ability. Nightmare was not surprised, spreading his arms and absorbing the attack with a grin.

"Damn it, again?"

They had tried this before?

Meta Knight had no time to think about it, for Joe's failed attack had returned Nightmare to his usual self. The one laughing at futile attempts.

"Did you already forget, Knuckle Joe? None of your attacks work against me. I am invincible."

He pointed his arm at them, ready to attack, but Meta Knight was faster.

A Sword Beam, barely even aimed at Nightmare in his haste, hit the cliff with a resounding crash, forcing Yamikage to dodge yet another avalanche of ice.

Meta Knight completely disregarded the ninja and focused on Nightmare instead. He had pulled his arm back. Why?

There was only one explanation, and Meta Knight remembered what Kabu had told him months ago already. There were powerful objects in this world, and some might be able to defeat Nightmare. He had pulled his arm back because Galaxia's attack would have hurt him.

"Heh, seems like ya missed," Joe pointed out unhelpfully, not realizing the significance of Nightmare dodging the attack.

"Yes," Meta Knight mumbled distractedly, then turned back around again. "Did you notice it?"

Kirby and Arthur nodded while Nightmare looked at his fingers, frowning.

"How fortunate. I wonder what happens if I hit him."

A predatory grin adorned his face for a moment.

However, Nightmare did not intend to let himself be hit. His attention had turned to the remains of the avalanche Meta Knight's Sword Beam had caused, regarding them with a worrying amount of interest.

When he shot electricity at the ice, Meta Knight almost expected it to explode violently and have ice splinters rain down on them. Nothing of the sort happened, but Meta Knight wished it had.

"W-what's that?"

The ice hovered in the air for a moment, an ominous blue light surrounding it. Then the pieces put themselves together, forming grotesque figures; many-legged, faceless monsters, subjected to Nightmare's every whim.

"Uh-oh..."

Nightmare's mood had improved promptly, and he was grinning again. He pointed at them, the ice monsters attacking at his silent command.

"Destroy 'em!"

The first one to reach them lost a leg to Galaxia, but it didn't seem to mind. It seemed off balance for a moment, close to falling, and then it slashed its arms at Meta Knight, the razor-sharp ice missing only by a hair's breadth.

A Sword Beam at point-blank range shattered it into a thousand pieces, and Meta Knight turned around to find his next opponent.

He didn't have to search for long, for Arthur and Bun had major problems with the opponent that had managed to get around Joe and Kirby. Arthur had been successful in keeping its attention away from Bun at the cost of his own safety, but it quickly backed him into a corner.

It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of Arthur; not interfering would be enough to kill him. It was tempting, but the probability was high that Bun would die as well, and Meta Knight was unwilling to sacrifice him.

Arthur dodged to the side, rolling out of the attack's path, and found himself directly in front of the cliff, no escape left.

Meta Knight would have preferred some less dramatic way to save the Galaxy Soldier, but he had little choice in the matter if he didn't want him to die.

The ice creature never saw him coming. Before even Arthur had realized what was happening, his opponent's head was lying on the ground, severed by Galaxia. Meta Knight landed three steps to Arthur's right, with an involuntarily dramatic pose that did not improve the Galaxy Soldier's mood.

"I _know_," Meta Knight forestalled the remark Arthur had been about to make. "Complain all you like about what I did or didn't do - later."

"Then I _inform_ you that you didn't kill Nightmare's monster," Arthur responded dryly, at the same time taking a step to the side.

Meta Knight didn't even waste a second, knowing better than to doubt Arthur's word. He brandished Galaxia in a wide arc, firing a Sword Beam again.

The ice creature was cleaved in two, the torso falling to the side with a crash.

Still, it was not enough to keep it down. The legs still moved, and the headless torso's arms clawed at the ground, trying to move in their direction. Meta Knight almost sighed. A nightmare indeed, where the atmosphere would normally try to freeze you and the enemies didn't die when they should.

Arthur had similar thoughts. "You would think decapitating and cutting something in two would be enough to kill it. It seems the normal rules don't apply to this nightmare of yours."

Surprisingly enough that was not even an accusation, just an observation.

"Ice is not a living being. Nightmare animated it. I suppose killing something not actually alive might take a little more than decapitating it."

Shattering it completely had worked well enough with the last one, and sure enough the pieces didn't move after Meta Knight had scattered them all over a radius of several meters. Sometimes excessive force was the correct way after all.

Kirby and Joe had had fewer problems with that. Their attacks exploded on impact and had left their opponents in pieces anyway. It made for an impressive number of dead monsters all around them, far more than Meta Knight's two.

"Huh? That was too easy."

"Don't say that!" Arthur reprimanded immediately, but Joe didn't listen.

"Is that all ya got?" he taunted Nightmare, who grinned back.

"You should know better than to taunt me, Knuckle Joe. I will make sure to draw your death out as long as possible."

This time there were more of the ice creatures, most of them much bigger than the ones from before. This was a problem; in a realm with an unlimited amount of ice Nightmare's victory became more likely with every passing minute.

Meta Knight really didn't like what he did next, but he saw no other choice.

No one was more surprised than Arthur himself was when he caught the katana Meta Knight had thrown at him. Meta Knight really hoped that had not been a mistake.

"Don't kill yourself with it."

He didn't stick around to see everyone's reaction, practically threw himself at the opponents.

Fighting through the horde of Nightmare's newest servants proved to be a challenge. They lost limbs to Galaxia, some more than one, but it barely slowed them down. They felt no pain, no fear of injury, and they didn't tire.

When he had finally fought through them, he found his way blocked again.

"Planning to go somewhere?"

Meta Knight growled at Yamikage. The ninja had slipped his mind completely.

He didn't bother with a reply, attacking immediately instead.

Yamikage dodged easily, disappearing into the horde of the ice creatures behind Meta Knight. He cursed as two of them turned their attention to him, forcing him to defeat them before he had the time to attack Nightmare.

The first one was decapitated, stopping it for the time it took Meta Knight to shatter the second opponent to pieces. A similar fate befell the first creature at the same time that one of Yamikage's shuriken grazed Meta Knight's arm, but he didn't stop to look for the perpetrator.

Focusing his attention on Nightmare, noting that his gaze had shifted to the ongoing fight behind Meta Knight, he tried to move into position. Ignoring the possible danger of Yamikage sniping him with another weapon, Meta Knight acted as soon as he saw his chance.

No one was in his way. Nightmare didn't pay attention to him.

"This is the end..."

Nightmare didn't see the Sword Beam in time. It had almost reached him when his expression turned into one of terror, his mouth opened for an exclamation of surprise that never came.

Meta Knight's Sword Beam hit him directly in the chest, and Nightmare doubled over, his face contorted into an expression of utter agony.

All of his monsters stopped their movements, turning to Nightmare as if worrying for their master's wellbeing. They were unimportant; with Nightmare's impending death they would disappear as well, would just crumble to tiny pieces of ice sparkling in the moon's pale light.

It was over.

The legendary weapon Galaxia; with it Nightmare would have been able to rule the universe. Now it had been his downfall, ending his life in a way he had not foreseen.

Turning slightly, contemplating if it would be wise to attack the remaining opponents, Meta Knight suddenly froze.

"You are a fool after all."

The ground under his feet exploded, and all he was able to see was white. Then he crashed on his back painfully, and white became black.

Distantly he heard someone shout his name and wondered who it was.

Nightmare laughed.

"Did you really think Galaxia would be able to harm me? I am invincible, Meta Knight! Nothing can stop me!"

Struggling to regain his senses, Meta Knight realized that his eyes were not closed as he had first assumed. He was looking at the black sky from his position on the ground, suddenly noticing the irony of it all.

A world in black and white? How uncreative of himself to choose these as primary colors. There were other ways to symbolize the conflict between good and evil.

He glared with all the hatred he was able to muster at Nightmare when he got back up again. Nightmare had been pretending.

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

One of the ice creatures had stepped on Galaxia, which he only now realized he had lost. It stopped, paralyzed by the electric shock it had received, and Meta Knight took the weapon back with an angry growl, smashing his opponent to pieces in one swift motion.

Nightmare had pretended before Meta Knight had hit him even. He had dodged his first attack, knowing that Meta Knight would reach the wrong conclusion. And how predictable his moves after that had been!

Damn it all!

Someone cursed as Meta Knight disregarded all caution and threw himself at his opponents, trying to destroy them in the most violent ways possible. Ultimately it made no difference, but he didn't care.

He had been tricked, had made a fool of himself, and nothing would escape his fury now.

The last opponent was destroyed, shattered by his wrath, and his hateful glare turned from Nightmare to Kirby, Arthur, Joe and Bun for a split second.

Only to realize that this one split second had been too long. Without it he might have been able to convince himself that they were going to win this.

Kirby had lost his copy ability and was bleeding from several cuts on his face. Joe had suffered similar injuries, and even Bun had not managed to get out of the fight without suffering small injuries. Only Arthur had managed to get out of the fight relatively unscathed, protected by his armor.

"It is over," Nightmare's voice boomed, his satisfaction unmistakable. "How much longer do you think you will last? I win, for nothing you can do will be able to harm me."

Only the Star Rod was able to harm Nightmare, and they didn't have it. They had started this fight without a way to harm Nightmare. They had effectively doomed themselves. _He_ had doomed them.

Meta Knight looked at the ground, clenching his fists. This was it? He was dead and yet alive in this nightmare and it was just over now?

"We will not give up."

He closed his eyes in defeat, sighing almost inaudibly. Now of all times.

But maybe it was exactly the right time.

"How-?"

"Fumu?"

Only Kirby seemed almost unsurprised. The other three stared, at a loss for words, and Meta Knight didn't blame them. He had done everything possible to hide it, had freely admitted to killing her when in fact he had not.

She smiled briefly and nodded, until her face adopted a serious expression again. "We will not give up," she repeated, looking at Nightmare as she did so.

He scowled, realizing that Meta Knight had tricked him as well.

"Meta Knight-"

"Didn't kill me," Fumu interrupted Arthur. She was about to say something else, but hesitated for the briefest of moments. Then her hesitation was over, and Bun had used his chance to speak.

"But you _are_ alright, Sis?" Bun sounded anxious.

Fumu hesitated again. "I am not dead, but I _am_ unconscious." She saw their looks of surprise, certainly because she actually knew what was going on. "Meta Knight told me what is going on. He found me before I had the time to panic in this dark world..."

She shuddered.

"What a surprising turn of events," Nightmare interrupted. "How selfless of you, to take the blame for something you didn't do." He sounded almost amused now.

Meta Knight disregarded him in favor of talking to Fumu. "You put yourself in unnecessary danger - again."

She frowned slightly. "You are not one to talk," she muttered quietly, not nearly quietly enough for Meta Knight not to hear it, though. "What are you going to do about it?"

There was hardly anything he was able to do about it. Her appearance had at least improved the general mood, and that was good enough for Meta Knight.

Before he had the time to make a remark, Nightmare had enough. He did not seem inclined to play his game any longer, planning to kill them all with the sheer number of opponents he created.

"Enough idle talk," he said calmly, anticipating the confrontation. He had not even bothered to create only new opponents, had chosen to resurrect the ones from before as well.

That should have been impossible, but the tiny pieces of ice rearranged themselves to resemble the creatures from before, appearing right between them.

"Whoa!"

Joe punched the first one before it had fully pieced itself together, and Meta Knight and Arthur jumped into action immediately as well.

"Kirby!" Fumu shouted over all the ensuing commotion, distracting Meta Knight for a moment.

She held the Warp Star in her hand.

How? When had she taken it?

With a determined expression on her face, Fumu was about to throw it at Kirby. She had noticed the ice monster beside her too late to escape its attack, and never stopped with her throwing motion.

"Fumu!" several voices shouted as the Warp Star left her hand, flying in Kirby's direction. The icy blade of Nightmare's monster would reach her, and no one was close enough to save her.

And after everything Fumu was the one doomed to die first?

Miraculously, the blade missed, the creature's whole body stumbling to the side as it was hit in the head. At the same time Kirby unconsciously inhaled the Warp Star Fumu had thrown him.

Nightmare snarled in anger, and only then did Meta Knight realize that it had been _Yamikage_ who had saved Fumu.

"I missed," he remarked, but Meta Knight _knew_ that it had been an intentional hit. Nightmare and Arthur knew it as well, and where did that put the ninja? Had he actually betrayed Nightmare?

Too many things had happened at once, and Meta Knight had not even noticed what had happened with Kirby. Nightmare had not noticed either, and when he finally did, his reaction was one of utter horror.

"What? The Star Rod?!"

Meta Knight first had to get rid of the opponent directly in front of him, smashing its head to pieces, before he had the time to turn around.

Nightmare was right. Kirby was holding a red and white swirled rod with a star at the tip.

He looked at it in wonder, then he disregarded it in favor of making sure that Fumu was all right.

Everyone else had stopped their movement, watching Kirby instead. Nightmare's reaction of panic had made his ice monsters stop as well, and Meta Knight realized that Nightmare's panic affected them. As long as he didn't give them new orders, they wouldn't be an issue.

Sufficiently assured that Fumu had not suffered any injuries, Kirby turned his attention to Nightmare, who seemed frozen in place.

He threw his hands up in horror when the intensity of light the Star Rod radiated increased, and Meta Knight covered his eyes when the light became too bright for him.

It left him unable to see what was happening, quite regretfully, for he would have liked to see Nightmare's defeat, but he heard Nightmare's disbelief and fear.

"Why? The Star Rod- How-?"

Whatever Kirby had done, had definitely hit. The light became even brighter for a moment, at the same time that Nightmare howled in pain, and then it was gone.

Meta Knight opened his eyes tentatively, and found that to his surprise not just the light was gone. _Everyone_ was gone.

What-?

Ah, of course. Nightmare had lost control and that meant that everyone else had gone back with him, back outside the nightmare he had created. Meta Knight was left because it was his nightmare, and wasn't that just interesting if utterly pointless to know?

Meta Knight had taken control from Nightmare, a little late, he noted bitterly.

Interestingly enough his surroundings didn't change, and Meta Knight had the time to study his nightmare a little closer. Admittedly, it was just as bleak as it had appeared at first glance. A dead world in black and white.

How depressing.

However, he found himself unwilling to leave it yet. He supposed he had only a limited amount of time to stay here, but it was better than returning to... well, _nothing_.

He was already dead, wasn't he? There was nothing to return to for him.

And yet they had won. A hollow victory for him personally, certainly, for what had he done other than betraying both sides? But Nightmare was gone, defeated by the legendary Star Rod.

He almost laughed; five people in total had known about it, maybe more if there were others he didn't know about. Five, none of which had had a clue how to get it. He was still not quite sure what had happened, but he supposed it did no longer matter.

Dreamland's ridiculous little legend had proven correctly in the end - against all expectations.

To think something obscure like a legend had led to Nightmare's downfall... It didn't feel right. It felt almost unfair, knowing what he did. Unfair to Kirby, unfair to himself, even unfair to Nightmare although he really didn't care for him.

He got what he deserved, just as Meta Knight himself did.

Funny, how life had a way of paying evil deeds back.

"Kirby of the Stars, huh?" he asked into the eerie silence, wondering if these were going to be his last words.

How bitterly ironic, all things considered.

* * *

One moment they were in that frightening and dark world, the next they were back on the chess board in Nightmare's fortress. It was a sudden and disorienting change, and Arthur found himself swaying on his feet for a moment.

Then he forced his attention to turn to Nightmare, who was obviously in pain.

_Star Rod_, that was what he had said.

Kirby no longer had that weapon in his possession, and neither did Arthur still have his own. A bad dream, a nightmare. They had left their weapons behind, left them to disappear in a reality that had never been.

The damage they had taken, however, had accompanied them.

Nightmare's body convulsed as he screamed in pain, and Arthur dispassionately watched electricity coursing through his body. The scene left Arthur feeling detached from it all; Nightmare's death had been his goal all along, but he didn't even feel relieved now.

He had lost too much to feel like he had won. All of them had lost, some more than others.

Slowly Nightmare's body faded away, and Arthur watched how his reign came to an end, brought about by the hands of a child. He watched the happenings with a grim expression, but still he felt nothing.

His eyes never left Nightmare's struggle, trying to burn every detail into his mind. Thus he saw Nightmare take a last look at Kirby and then at Meta Knight, before he faded into nothingness, gone from this world.

Arthur glanced at Kirby, mildly curious for his reaction. He was almost disappointed to see him staring ahead with a somber expression.

"You succeeded. He is gone."

He turned around slowly, throwing the one who had spoken a disinterested look. Outnumbered as he was Yamikage would not dare attack them.

"What are you going to do now that you reached your life-long goal?" he continued, speaking directly to Arthur, sounding almost interested. Arthur doubted Yamikage cared much for the answer.

"Leave," Kirby told him in Arthur's stead. He sounded weary, utterly exhausted, and his blood-smeared face betrayed his emotions easily now.

"Yeah, sounds good." Joe tried to wipe the blood away from his forehead, to no avail. "Are ya gonna try to stop us?" he added threateningly, but Yamikage barely listened.

His attention went from the still form of Meta Knight's body on the ground to Arthur's face, and the ninja looked directly into his eyes for a few seconds.

"No, I will leave as well."

Much to his surprise Arthur found that he did not care. They had tried to kill each other not too long ago, but after Nightmare's death it seemed a pointless effort to try to kill the ninja.

"Where are you going?" he asked anyway, trying to pretend he was interested in the response. Yamikage hesitated for just a moment.

"Far away," he replied, and Arthur nodded.

Yamikage took it as his sign to leave, turning around without another word. He had already taken some steps, and then he stopped again.

"Nightmare was never the only one, although he overshadowed them all. Now, that he is gone, other unspeakable horrors will try to take his place. There might be a time of peace now, but just when you feel secure, someone will shatter this state some sacrificed everything for. There is no world without conflict, and a hero's tale inevitably ends in tragedy."

Arthur suddenly wished he was able to see the ninja's face, but before he was able to react, Yamikage was gone from the illusion of the chess board - or whatever it was.

He almost didn't dare think about what the ninja had said. He knew, of course he did, that Yamikage was right. Not now and if he could prevent it not in the near future, but sooner or later someone else was going to try and take the vacant spot at the top.

Someone always did, regardless of how hard people tried to stop them.

Arthur slowly expelled the breath he had barely realized he was holding, feeling terribly exhausted all of a sudden.

For the fact that it was their triumph, it felt too much like their loss.

Joe's voice interrupted his thoughts, a welcome distraction.

"Where's Bun?"

Arthur looked around, but was unable to spot he boy. Only Joe and Kirby were in sight, with a supposedly unconscious Meta Knight lying not too far away, bleeding all over the floor. Try as he might, he was unable to remember where exactly Bun had been when Nightmare had dragged them into the nightmare.

"With Fumu," Kirby mumbled after a few seconds, throwing a quick glance in Meta Knight's direction and then purposefully turning in another direction and taking a few steps before Joe reacted. Then Joe followed, and Arthur was left behind as they disappeared between the chess pieces.

He gazed after them, puzzled because of the reaction.

Kirby had left Meta Knight. He had left Meta Knight, who was seriously injured, was _dying_ right at this moment.

Did Kirby no longer care? Had Meta Knight's betrayal cost him what trust there was?

Did it matter?

Arthur recalled Meta Knight's words vividly.

_I am already dead_.

But was he?

Approaching slowly, coming to a halt directly in front of him, Arthur looked down at Meta Knight's body emotionlessly.

Meta Knight had betrayed them.

Arthur had promised to show no mercy in case he attacked them again.

He hesitated, why? The world was better off with Nightmare _and_ Meta Knight dead, he didn't doubt it. And yet he was reluctant, didn't strike the finishing blow to an enemy who was all but dead already anyway.

If he were honest with himself, Arthur rather wished to know the reason. Why had Meta Knight acted as he had? Why had he betrayed both sides in the end?

If Meta Knight died, none of these questions would ever be answered.

But what if Meta Knight survived? Would he ever answer the questions Arthur had?

He would never know if he killed Meta Knight now, he supposed.

With no weapon of his own, Arthur had no choice but to take one from Meta Knight. Galaxia was disregarded; trying to pick up the legendary weapon would do him no good, especially if he intended to kill its master with it.

Instead, he took the katana Meta Knight had given to him earlier.

It had been Yamikage's before, Meta Knight had said. How ironic for Meta Knight to die at his hands and with this weapon.

"It _is_ ironic, isn't it?"

Predictably, Meta Knight didn't respond.

_I am already dead_.

"Farewell, Meta Knight."

* * *

**A/N:** Over, _vorbei_.

Yes, I really did end this with a cliffhanger.

Thanks for reading.


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